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Aircraft Leasing
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 25 June, Official Report, column 80, if he will list the names of the companies involved in the wet lease applications received in 1995. [35274]
Mr. Norris: The following companies were involved in wet lease applications in 1995:
| UK lessee airline | Foreign lessor airline |
|---|---|
| Air 2000 | Canada 3000 Airlines |
| Air Foyle | Khors Air Company Safair Southern Air Transport |
| Air Swift Ltd. | Sun-Air |
| Airtours International | Avatlantic Centenniel Express SkyService Toronto Spanair |
| All Leisure Airlines | TransLift Airways |
| Atlantic Air Transport Ltd. | Safair |
| Britannia Airways | Air Operations of Europe American Trans Air |
| British Airways | Arrow Air Atlas Air Cargo Lion Evergreen International Airlines Gemini Air Cargo MK Airlines Seagreen Air Transport Southern Air Transport USAir |
| Business Air | Crossair |
| Caledonian Airways | Adria Airways AOM Air Company ChallengAir Sun Country Airlines |
| Channel Express (Air Services) | Farner Air Transport Zantop International Airlines |
| Cityflyer Express | Transwede Airways |
| Dollar Helicopters | Petroleum Air Services |
| Emerald Airways Ltd. | Heliglobe Finet |
| European Aviation Air Charter | Safair |
| Flightline | Balair-CTA |
| GB Airways | Ryanair |
| Heavylift Cargo Airlines | Airstan Joint Stock AC Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Buffalo Airways Pelita Air Service Volga Dnepr Airline |
| Macair Ltd. | Sun-Air |
| Maersk Air Ltd. | Maersk Copenhagen |
| Virgin Atlantic Airways | TransLift Airways |
10 Jul 1996 : Column: 192
Sea Empress Incident
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to receive the report of the inquiry into the Sea Empress disaster. [35961]
Mr. Norris: The chief inspector of marine accidents intends to report to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State within one year of the incident.
Mr. Nicholls: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made in the clean-up operation following the Sea Empress oil spill off the Pembrokeshire coast; and if he will make a statement. [36996]
Mr. Norris: The clean-up operation has made excellent progress. The majority of beaches have now been cleaned of the heavy pollution immediately following the spill. Pembrokeshire's prime resort beaches at Tenby and Saundersfoot were restored in time for the Easter break and Tenby north beach has recently been awarded the prestigious European blue flag for high standards of cleanliness and water quality. It is one of only four beaches in Wales to achieve this.
The main efforts in the on-going clean-up operation are now concentrated on the most inaccessible areas of coastline. However, the strong winds and high waters of the Pembrokeshire coastline continue to reveal isolated patches of buried oil, tar balls from oil broken down at sea and some sheening effects as oil residues are washed out. All beaches continue to be monitored closely and "hit squads" are immediately brought into action to deal with any localised problems of this kind. Resources will continue to be deployed for as long as is necessary to complete the clean-up operation.
Airline Partnerships
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the extent of his responsibilities in respect of partnership agreements between United Kingdom and foreign airlines. [35917]
Mr. Norris: Partnership agreements and other forms of alliance between UK and foreign airlines are commercial matters for the airlines concerned, subject to UK and EC rules on ownership and control. Competition aspects are matters for the UK and EC competition authorities.
Excalibur Airways
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what investigations the Civil Aviation Authority has undertaken into allegations of unsafe operations during flights operated by Excalibur Airways.[35977]
10 Jul 1996 : Column: 193
Mr. Norris: The CAA advises me that all but one of the complaints it received concerning flights operated by Excalibur were related to contractual and commercial arrangements between the airline and its customers. The single safety complaint concerned a faulty door. An inspection for the aircraft confirmed that, although the normal electrical method of opening one of the aircraft doors had an intermittent fault, it could still be operated both manually and pneumatically. The CAA does not consider that passenger safety was compromised.
Air Rights
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the implications for the United Kingdom of the Council of Ministers' decision to empower the EU to negotiate with the United States of America on behalf of EU states regarding air rights. [35955]
Mr. Norris: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to the hon. Member for Bournemouth, East (Mr. Atkinson) on 8 July, Official Report, columns 76-77.
As noted in that reply, member states retain the right to conduct bilateral negotiations with the US while Community-level negotiations are under way.
Mr. Allen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has to restart the Bermuda II negotiations with the United States of America. [35918]
Mr. Norris:
Negotiations are scheduled to resume in the week beginning 15 July.
Mr. Allen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will receive a delegation from the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, RMT, to discuss the Save Our Ships campaign. [35914]
Mr. Norris:
Ministers and officials regularly meet representatives of shipowners and the seafaring unions to discuss issues of common interest. My hon. Friend the Minister for Aviation and Shipping would be happy to consider a request from the RMT for a meeting.
Mr. Allen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what provision will be made for public consultation on the cost-benefit analysis and environmental and traffic impacts of motorway widening schemes; [35829]
Mr. Watts:
All motorway widening schemes are subject to public consultation and statutory procedures when details of cost-benefit analysis and environmental and traffic impact assessments are available for public scrutiny and debate.
The following motorway widening schemes are currently in the programme.
10 Jul 1996 : Column: 194
(2) if he will list the motorway widening schemes currently in the national roads programme; and which of these will undergo (a) environmental assessment, (b) cost-benefit analysis and (c) a public inquiry. [35716]
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