HC Deb 24 October 1988 vol 139 c100W
28. Mr. Callaghan

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he last visited Gatwick airport.

Mr. Peter Bottomley

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State uses the airport as a passenger from time to time. He has yet to make a formal visit.

Mr. Neil Hamilton

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the reasons for designating Gatwick as a hub airport; what is his assessment of the effects of the removal of such designation and of designating Stansted in its place; and what steps he intends to take to ensure that the Civil Aviation Authority, in reviewing London air traffic distribution, considers the implications of such a change.

Mr. Peter Bottomley

There is no formal procedure for designating airports as "hub" airports. In July 1985, in seeking the advice of the Civil Aviation Authority on London area air traffic distribution policy my right hon. Friend, the then Secretary of State, asked the CAA to have regard to a number of policy objectives including the development of Gatwick as an effective second hub. My right hon. Friend sought fresh advice from the authority in a letter to the chairman of 22 June this year (a copy is in the Library). We expect the CAA to consider fully the effect on the civil aviation industry of various patterns of development for airports in the London area.