§ Mr. Andrew F. BennettTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will ask the Director General of Fair Trading to investigate the British Airways shuttle service between Manchester and London to see if they have sufficient staff, planes, equipment and air traffic slots to provide the service as advertised.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyNo. We are not aware of any evidence to suggest that British Airways lacks sufficient staff, aircraft, or equipment to operate the service adequately. Air traffic control slots can be requested only by the operator up to 2¼ hours before take-off, and the timing of the slots allocated depend on the traffic conditions prevailing at the time.