§ Mr. McCrindleasked the Minister for Trade if it is his policy to grant traffic rights to airlines to fly to Manchester without reciprocal rights to British airlines to fly to destinations in the country of the airline concerned.
§ Mr. Sproat[pursuant to the reply, 25 March 1983, c. 520]: I am very keen to encourage the growth of scheduled services to and from regional airports including Manchester. The rights for such services are subject to bilateral agreements with the aeronautical authorities of the other country concerned. Airlines of the different countries may, of course, operate over different routes. I need to ensure, however, that the overall effect of any bilateral agreement with another country takes full account of the interests of British airlines in gaining access to foreign airports as well as the interests of the travelling public in services between the two countries.