§ Sir Trevor SkeetTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if, in view of the recent Civil Aviation Authority report, he will give an assurance that the airfield at Thurleigh will not be required as a passenger terminal.
§ Mr. McLoughlinIn the light of the Civil Aviation Authority's advice last year on the air traffic control and air space implications of developing additional capacity at 569W various airports in and near the south-east, to meet demand for air travel in the longer term, Thurleigh is not one of those being considered further by the working group we have established for the purpose. I refer my hon. Friend to the statement made on 9 May by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence Procurement, that on a preliminary assessment Thurleigh could have potential as a commercial non-passenger airfield.