Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effects on (a) regional air routes to Northern Ireland and (b) other regional UK routes of the sale of Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton airports to a Spanish and Australian consortium.

The Government has made no such assessment. Airports, and the airlines that use them, operate in a competitive environment and it is for them to take commercial decisions on the services that they offer. The Spanish partner, Ferrovial, already had an interest in these airports through its shareholding in Heathrow Airport Holdings Limited (formerly BAA).