§ Ms. HoeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will meet the chairmen of British Airways and British Midland to discuss a reduction in fares between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. NorrisNo, although meetings with United Kingdom airlines are held periodically in the course of departmental business.
The evidence suggests that there is, on a fare per mile basis, quite a wide variation in fares amongst the various routes to Northern Ireland. But taken as a whole the Northern Ireland fares do not differ markedly from those on routes between regional airports in other parts of the United Kingdom.
All United Kingdom fare tariffs, including those to Northern Ireland, are filed with the Civil Aviation Authority, which has the powers to act against fares which are clearly excessive. The level they are filed at is a matter for the commercial judgment of the airline concerned.