Lord Kennet askedHer Majesty's Government:
Whether the terms under which land on Ascension Island is provided free from rent and charges to the United States Military Space Command preclude them from authorising uses of that land in the national interest such as the use by civil charter flights to the Falkland Islands of Wideawake airfield. [HL2905]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanAll land on Ascension Island that is provided free of rent and charges to the United States Space Command is subject84WA to the terms of the Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the United States of America Concerning the Extension of the Bahamas Long Range Proving Ground by the Establishment of Additional Sites in Ascension Island signed in 1956, as amended.
The terms of this agreement currently preclude the use of Wideawake airfield by civil flights. We are discussing an amendment to the Agreement with the US Government which would allow the use of Wideawake by civil charter flights.