Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many slots will be guaranteed for connections to regional airports in the UK as a result of the expansion of Heathrow airport.

The Secretary of State has a clear ambition for about 15 Per cent of slots made available from a new runway to be used for domestic routes. We expect that the majority of these routes will be commercially viable with support from Heathrow Airport Limited.

Government will also take action, where appropriate, to secure routes through the use of Public Service Obligations. This will include ring fencing appropriately timed slots. Further detail on the Government’s targets and commitments on domestic connectivity will be detailed in a Green Paper on the Aviation Strategy which will be published towards the end of 2018.