Airports: London

Lord Faulkner of Worcester Excerpts

Wednesday 16th March 2011 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, I agree with the noble Lord’s first question about the importance of the aviation industry, but we do not want massively to increase the use of aviation, we want to keep it where it is. We must constrain our aviation emissions.

[Lord Faulkner of Worcester]

My Lords, can the Minister confirm that in all the countries that have constructed high-speed railways, the demand for domestic air transport has declined significantly? Therefore, if the Government are determined to build High Speed 2—as I very much hope they will—they are perfectly entitled to rescale down the projected demand for domestic aviation in the United Kingdom.

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, the studies of aviation demand will take the noble Lord’s point into consideration. I understand that domestic aviation in Spain has been drastically reduced because of the construction of a high-speed rail network.