§ Mr. Wigginasked the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 4 December, what method the Civil Aviation Authority uses to bill airlines for meteorological services; what records are kept as to the payment of such bills; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Michael SpicerThe costs of services supplied by the Meteorological Office to civil aviation are added to the costs incurred by the authority in providing en-route navigation services, and these are recovered through a single charge for each en-route flight. For chargeable flights in the two flight information regions which cover the United Kingdom, charges (which are calculated on the basis of distance flown and taking into account the weight of the aircraft) are billed on behalf of the CAA by the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL).
The CAA itself levies charges (which are calculated on a simple per flight basis) for aircraft flights through the SHANWICK (North East Atlantic) flight information region, for which the United Kingdom is by international agreement responsible, and for helicopter flights over the North sea. Records are kept by EUROCONTROL and the CAA respectively in respect of the bills which they issue.