Low Flying (Hansard, 27 October 1993)

§ Mr. Redmond
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what response was given by the officer commanding Royal Air Force unit Goose bay to the letter from the commander of No. 5 wing, Canadian forces, dated 11 June, requesting assurances that Royal Air Force units visiting Goose bay are notified of the importance of complying with Canadian national and local flying orders.

§ Mr. Hanley
Following the letter from the commander of No. 5 wing, Canadian forces, officer commanding RAF Goose bay wrote to officers commanding of all Tornado GR1 squadrons which deploy to Goose bay on a regular basis stressing the importance of adhering to the Canadian national and Goose bay local flying orders during deployments to Goose bay. Moreover, commanding officers were reminded that these procedures would be covered as part of the brief given on arrival at Goose bay. Similar advice will be given to any other squadrons planning to deploy to Goose bay in the future.
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§ Mr. Redmond
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on future plans for Royal Air Force training at Canadian forces base Goose bay beyond the expiry of the current multinational memorandum of understanding.

§ Mr. Hanley
The current multinational memorandum of understanding on the use of Canadian forces base Goose bay expires on 31 March 1996. The Canadian authorities are carrying out an environmental review of the effect of military activity in the area. Continued use of Goose bay by the Royal Air Force will depend on decisions taken by the Canadian Government in the light of this review, and on any subsequent negotiations with the Canadian Government.

§ Mr. McFall
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if RAF aircrew planning low-level training flights over Germany are required to supply details of their intended route to the authorities responsible for the German low-flying management system.

§ Mr. Hanley
Royal Air Force aircrew planning to fly at low level over Germany during daylight hours are not required to supply details of their intended route to the authorities responsible for the German low-flying management system. The German night low-flying system is one of fixed routes and RAF aircrew planning to fly at low level at night are required to notify which route they intend to fly.