Heathrow Airport
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of Heathrow Airport’s current regulatory model on (a) regional connectivity and (b) passengers traveling from (i) Scotland and (ii) other parts of the UK to access international flights.
Answered by Keir Mather
The Department’s assessment of the current regulatory framework is that it does not prevent domestic services being prioritised, including routes serving Scotland and other parts of the UK. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is independently responsible for the economic regulation of Heathrow. The CAA discharges these responsibilities in line with their statutory duties, primarily that the interests of passengers are protected through the control of airport charges and oversight of service quality. In carrying out its functions, the CAA considers the needs of passengers travelling from across the UK who rely on Heathrow to access international connections.
The Government is currently reviewing the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS), which provides the policy framework against which any application for a third runway at Heathrow would be considered. This review has included policies related to domestic connectivity.
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