§ Mr. McCrindleasked the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he has taken to satisfy himself that the conditions prevailing on domestic air routes are such as to make competition possible with those airlines currently serving them and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Michael Spicer[pursuant to the reply, 28 October 19851: Before licensing a competing domestic service the Civil Aviation Authority, in accordance with its statutory duties, must consider a number of factors including whether a route can support competing services and the effect on an incumbent operator of licensing a competitor. There are no other constraints on route entry apart from statutory considerations such as these. Domestic fares in 399W particular are now effectively deregulated, although the authority retains powers to deal with anti-competitive behaviour on fares, as well as in other areas.