Air Traffic Control Disruption
Debate between Keir Mather and Bob Blackman(1 week, 4 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
Keir Mather
Aviation connectivity is perhaps nowhere more important than from Northern Ireland to the rest of the United Kingdom. It is an economic and a social lifeline—I am cognisant of that. I can reassure the hon. Member that retaining resilience with the links from Northern Ireland to the UK mainland is of the utmost importance to me, and I would be glad to speak further to him to think about how we can strengthen those aviation links.
Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)
Many of my constituents work at Heathrow airport. They have had to work extra hours, as the right hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) mentioned, and they have suffered abuse, too. I put on record my appreciation for all that they have done. Even more of my constituents use Heathrow for business travel and social travel. Some will have insurance, but others will not. What advice is the Department giving to those people who have been affected on claiming compensation and alternative opportunities for travel? Has he set up a hotline, for example, whereby people can phone in and get advice immediately?