§ Mr. Haselhurstasked the Secretary of State for Trade if, in accordance with section 21(5) of the Airports Authority Act 1975, he will request the British Airports Authority to provide him with information relating to the authority's policy on the size of Stansted airport at the end of the century, in view of the statement by the chairman of the authority that Stansted would then be as big as Heathrow; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. TebbitNo. The authority has applied for outline planning permission to develop Stansted airport to a capacity of 15 million passengers per annum, and this application will be the subject of a public inquiry. Any proposal to expand Stansted beyond that level would depend upon the rate of growth of air traffic, which at present cannot be foreseen with any degree of certainty.