§ Lord Morris of Manchesterasked Her Majesty's Government:
When they now expect the new air traffic control centre to become operational; and whether and with what result any assessment has been made of the effect on safety of delays in opening the centre. [HL312]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Baroness Hayman)The Government still expect the New En Route Centre at Swanwick in Hampshire to become operational in the winter of 1999–2000. The primary consideration of National Air Traffic Services Ltd. (NATS), which controls en route air traffic, is safety. For example, if NATS considers that air traffic controllers are in danger of being exposed to excessive workloads, it will limit the number of aircraft coming into the UK's airspace. Therefore no assessment of the effect on safety of delays to the centre has been made.