§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when(a) he or (b) other Ministers in his Department and (c) his officials last met BAA plc to discuss airport capacity in the South East of England. [51214]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonI have met BAA plc on four occasions since 2 May 1997. None of these engagements was arranged specifically to discuss airport capacity in the South East of England. Discussions covered a range of issues. I understand the same is true for the other Ministers in my Department. Officials within my Department met BAA on 14 July 1998 and, among other topics, did discuss airport capacity in the South East of England.
§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many slots are operated by each airline at (i) Heathrow and (ii) Gatwick airports. [51149]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThe Government do not collect this information themselves, but from reports prepared by Airport Co-ordination Ltd., I can provide the figure for the ten carriers that hold the most slots for the current summer season.
459W
Slots Percentage Heathrow British Airways 97,455 37 British Midland 35,497 13 Lufthansa 11,280 4 Aer Lingus 9,076 3 SAS 8,340 3 Iberia 6,300 2 American Airlines 6,299 2 United Airlines 6,010 2 KLM 5,820 2 Alitalia 5,520 2
Slots Percentage Gatwick British Airways 37,558 27 City Flyer 18,657 13 Jersey European 5,877 4 Monarch 5,262 4 GB Airways 4,973 4 Air 2000 4,930 4 Britannia 4,673 3 Caledonian 4,469 3 Air Tours International 3,394 2 Air World 2,534 2
§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if his Department will carry out an assessment of the benefits and disbenefits of the three major South East airports being owned by the same operator. [51374]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonI have no plans to do so. Under the Airports Act 1986 the Civil Aviation Authority can impose whatever conditions might be appropriate to remedy the effects of anti-competitive behaviour by an airport operator. In the 1996 quinquennial review, the MMC reported that it had not found any course of conduct by BAA London airports for which a change in the structure of their ownership would be an appropriate remedy.
§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what action he is taking or plans to take following the decision by BAA to give sole access to Terminal Five at Heathrow to British Airways and its alliance partners. [51375]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonBAA announced in 1997 that it would provisionally be designating British Airways as the main user of Terminal 5. Decisions on the allocation of terminal facilities are a matter for the airport operator; I understand that BAA's announcement followed a process of consultation with all interested parties.