Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has had discussions with airlines on the viability of direct flights to Sierra Leone.

Department for Transport Ministers and officials hold regular discussions with airlines, airports and international partners to facilitate global connectivity. Air services between the United Kingdom and other countries are governed by a portfolio of bilateral air services agreements, which set the framework in which airlines from both countries operate. Our agreement with Sierra Leone specifies that there are no limitations on the frequency or type of services between Sierra Leone and the UK. Any airline from the UK or Sierra Leone, designated under this agreement, can operate between any points in the two countries.

It is for individual airlines to determine whether to take advantage of the rights and routes available to them within any air services agreement. Market conditions, such as the availability of indirect routing options, often affect the commercial considerations of airlines.