Air Traffic Control Disruption
Debate between Keir Mather and Chris Bloore(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
Let me reassure the right hon. Gentleman, my constituency neighbour, that we have a system of prioritising what we feel as a Department is most important, passing that through the CAA, and down to NATS. The Secretary of State puts together a priorities letter that sets out very clearly her expectations of our air traffic control system, and chief among them, when that was last done, was technological transformation to ensure that our systems are resilient. That recommendation is more pressing than ever, given what we have seen. The Secretary of State and I will both reaffirm that in our meetings with NATS and the CAA, because this incident teaches us that that technological change should be completed with all possible haste.
Chris Bloore (Redditch) (Lab)
I thank the Minister for his statement, and for all the work that he is doing to get this situation resolved. Unfortunately, the cancellations impacted some of my Redditch residents yesterday. Will he assure me that he is reminding airlines that they have a continued duty of care to people, and have to get them home as quickly as possible, particularly those who have been stranded far from home?
Keir Mather
We are in close dialogue with both airlines and airports, and are reminding them of what needs to be done to protect the welfare of their passengers. Both airline and airport staff and the companies themselves across the country are endeavouring to do the right thing by their passengers who face this disruption. The Department needs to ensure that it is doing its bit, and we will never be shy of fighting for passengers and their rights.