Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on the level of fees charged by Heathrow Airport to airlines in the event of a third runway being built at that airport.

The Airports Commission shortlisted three airport expansion schemes, two at Heathrow and one at Gatwick. The Government accepted the Commission’s shortlist in December 2015 and is considering all of the evidence very carefully before reaching a view on its preferred scheme. The Government is not providing a running commentary on this work and nor would it be appropriate to outline specific pieces of evidence before an announcement on its preference. Any work to inform an announcement will be set out in subsequent publications and associated consultation.