§ Mr. Nigel EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures are being taken to improve the services offered by major United Kingdom international airports; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. NorrisThe Government believe that increasing the scope for airport operators to respond to commercial pressures offers the best route for improving the services offered at all airports. This underlies the Government's policy of encouraging increased private sector involvement in the ownership and management of local authority-owned airports.
§ Mr. Nigel EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passengers used(a) Gatwick airport and (b) Heathrow airport in each year since 1979.
§ Mr. NorrisThe numbers of passengers at(a) Gatwick airport and (b) Heathrow airport are shown in the table.
Terminal passengers at Heathrow and Gatwick 1979–92 Year Gatwick (000) Heathrow (000) 1979 8,965 27,979 1980 9,703 27,484 1981 10,725 26,411 1982 11,155 26,406 1983 12,471 26,767 1984 13,953 29,164 1985 14,885 31,310 1986 16,309 31,310 1987 19,381 34,743 1988 20,744 37,510 1989 21,149 39,587 1990 21,043 42,635 1991 18,690 40,245 1992 19,842 44,964