§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what communications he had with the Dutch defence ministry on its request to the Red Arrow display team to curtail their appearance at an air show in Eindhoven on safety grounds; and what Dutch safety guidelines would have been broken if they had participated.
§ Mr. HanleyThere were no such communications. The invitation for the Red Arrows to display at Eindhoven was accepted as it was understood that the Netherlands authorities were planning to waive some aspects of their regulations on display flying to enable the team to perform their standard display routine. This routine involves a small number of overflights of the spectators at a minimum height of 1,000 feet, but no aerobatic manoeuvres towards or above the crowd. It is understood that it is this aspect of the display routine that does not accord with the Netherlands regulations. The waiver was not granted, so the team withdrew from the event.