Air Traffic Control Disruption

Debate between Keir Mather and Christine Jardine

Thursday 10th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[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.

[Christine Jardine (Edinburgh West) (LD)]

I apologise for the earlier slip, Madam Deputy Speaker.

May I echo the comments about the fantastic job done safeguarding the British public by the staff at NATS? Just recently, I visited air traffic control in our control tower at Edinburgh airport, and I saw at first hand the amount of work that goes into keeping the public safe. However, through the airport, I am acutely aware that there is dissatisfaction with the delays in the new airspace management programme. We have not made progress in Scotland; in fact, we fear that this will be put aside for yet another year. That all feeds into a lack of confidence among the British public and air passengers in our transport system. Can the Minister assure me that steps will be taken to speed up the management, and to ensure that our air passengers get the improved system that they deserve?

[Keir Mather]

I thank the hon. Lady for her challenge. She is right; both Glasgow and Edinburgh airports have ambitious programmes of airspace redesign under way. I reassure her that the Department is committed to working productively with them to ensure that they can realise those airspace change proposals as quickly as possible. That will help us to make our flights more efficient, reduce carbon burn, stop planes idling when they do not need to, and hopefully minimise noise. Scotland is well ahead of other areas in that space, and we need to give it all possible tools, so that it can deliver that important work.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency

Debate between Keir Mather and Christine Jardine

Wednesday 8th July 2026 Commons Chamber

[Christine Jardine (Edinburgh West) (LD)]

I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) for bringing forward this urgent question. My constituents in South Queensferry, where we have a lifeboat, have written to me in great numbers to say that they are concerned about the coastguard service. The service in South Queensferry is unlike many of the others that have been mentioned. It is not rural or in the highlands; it is largely suburban. It patrols an area under three very large bridges, and the CROs have to deal with a lot of tragic incidents. The coastguards there have told me that they are concerned about what might happen as a result of the changes. Will the Minister come to my constituency to hear what they and the community have to say as we hit peak tourist season?

[Keir Mather]

I am very happy to engage with the hon. Lady’s constituents on this matter, and I thank her for so robustly defending them in this House. She is right to say that we have spoken a lot about the importance of CROs to rural, island and coastal communities. She brings an incredibly important perspective on the implications for cities, especially as we look towards the summer period and peak tourist season. She is right to point to the fact that this will build as an issue over the summer. When the changes were originally announced, they were due to be implemented in September, but that is not to say that I am not cognisant of the fact that there could be implications if people feel demotivated and unwilling to attend a call-out before then. It is really important that we take the time to re-engage with CROs, such as those in her constituency, and to talk about the long-term options.