§ Mr. Adleyasked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will make a statement on the future operation of Concorde by British Airways.
§ Mr. SproatAs my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Department of Industry told the House on 10 November, in reply to a question from the hon. Member for Preston, North (Mr. Atkins), the Minister of State and I recently discussed Concorde with M. Fiterman, the French Minister of Transport. We agreed that British and French officials should pursue their current joint studies into the future of Concorde, with the aim of reaching conclusions by the first quarter of 1982. Within that framework, commercial responsibility for the operation of Concorde rests with British Airways themselves.
§ Mr. Adleyasked the Secretary of State for Trade if he has been requested by British Airways to seek to obtain on their behalf agreement from the Government of Nigeria for traffic rights to operate Concorde to Lagos.
§ Mr. SproatNo.