Flybmi

Debate between Baroness Sugg and Lord Carlile of Berriew

Monday 18th February 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sugg]

Both the UK and the EU have made it very clear that we want flights to continue after Brexit. We and the EU are taking the necessary actions to ensure that this will be the case in the event of no deal. This sad event is a commercial matter for the airline in a competitive industry. BMI has been exposed to wider pressures faced by the global aviation industry such as increasing fuel prices and intense competition. Other EU airlines have collapsed in recent years; for example, Germania, Primera Air, Air Berlin and flyvlm. This is not just a UK issue. I agree with the noble Baroness that businesses want certainty. I am afraid that that I do not have any figures on jobs and retraining, but I regularly hear requests for certainty from the aviation industry. That is why we are working to deliver a deal and the implementation period that comes with it. I hope that that will be agreed soon so that we can give businesses the certainty they need.

[Lord Carlile of Berriew (CB)]

Does the Minister agree that this diminution in services to and from provincial airports in the United Kingdom raises real questions about the viability of some of those airports? Does she also agree that having a good network of provincial airports is extremely important to the UK economy and the passenger group who wish to travel? Will she assure us that the Government will look at this problem as a matter of urgency?