Examination of Witnesses (Questions 180-195)
5 MAY 2004
SIR ROY
MCNULTY,
MR JOHN
ARSCOTT, AND
MR ALEX
PLANT
Q180 Chairman: Do not be coy! It will
become public. Would you be of the opinion that public service
obligations should be written in, or would you be of the opinion
that trading in slots?
Mr Plant: I think my opinion would
be that public service obligations can be a necessary step in
certain circumstances, but you need to use them quite carefully
otherwise you may have a proliferation of public service obligations
which can have some hidden costs on the efficient operation of
airports. So yes, in certain circumstances.
Q181 Chairman: What is the CAA view on
the introduction of the trans-Atlantic common aviation area?
Mr Plant: It is something we would
support strongly.
Q182 Chairman: And would it cover the
whole of the EU and the USA?
Mr Plant: Yes, that would be the
aim. It would be a single market, such as we have in Europe, but
bringing the US into that single market.
Q183 Chairman: Since decisions can be
taken by a qualified majority vote, how would you protect the
interests of the British?
Mr Plant: There is a certain legal
complexity to any agreement because it would be a mixed agreement.
Some elements of it are the Commission's competence and some elements
remain within national competence, as I understand it.
Q184 Chairman: Given that life is never
simple, how can you protect the interests of the British people,
the consumer and the British airlines?
Mr Plant: Absolutely. Firstly,
the best way of ensuring that the United Kingdom's interests as
a whole are protected is to engage vigorously with the Commission
through the Special Committee, which we attend along with our
colleagues from the Department of Transport, and recognising the
fact that the United Kingdom has 40% of the total EU/US market,
I think the UK has a strong voice in those discussions.
Q185 Chairman: We did control the whole
of the fishing, but it did not seem to produce very good results.
Mr Plant: I cannot comment on
the success or otherwise of the fishing scenario.
Q186 Chairman: So you are playing an
active role, either through the Safety Regulation Group or the
Directorate for Airspace Policy in developing a Single European
Sky air traffic control, are you?
Sir Roy McNulty: Very much so,
yes.
Q187 Chairman: How many people do you
have working on that?
Mr Arscott: Not continually but
about 20 or 25.
Q188 Chairman: What percentage of the
work at CAA these days is directly connected with European Union
issues?
Mr Arscott: In the Directorate
of Airspace Policy I would have thought about 20%.
Q189 Chairman: Finally, if the CAA accept
that aircraft have an internationally accepted certification standard,
are going to insist on the special conditions to meet British
civil airworthiness requirements?
Sir Roy McNulty: Where we think
there is a valid case to be made, we will put to the European
Aviation Safety Agency that they should encompass in their regulations
some of the special requirements we have. We understand that a
number of other nations, including the French and the Germans,
have put forward similar special requirements and the European
Aviation Safety Agency will consider those. So that if we think
there is something needed to maintain our safety standards, we
will seek to get the European Aviation Safety Agency to adopt
that.
Q190 Chairman: What happens if they say
"No"?
Sir Roy McNulty: I think if we
have made a properly reasoned technical case they will accept
it. That so far is the indication from the cases they have so
far reviewed; they will accept it.
Q191 Chairman: You have a Greek belief
in logic.
Sir Roy McNulty: We have to get
by somehow, Madam Chairman.
Q192 Chairman: I am always interested
in a man who has been as long in public service as you have, who
still retains his illusions! Can I ask you this, finally? We are
aware of at least three different incidents, and I will not name
them now, where commercial arrangements that would have been in
place already had it simply been a matter of British control are
being held up by the fact that the Commission has given no decisions.
Are you aware of particular commercial instances where British
operators are being disadvantaged by the fact that they are awaiting
decisions at European level?
Mr Plant: One that springs to
mind is the Hong Kong deal, on which I was a member of the negotiating
team, and we negotiated a provisional deal which was held in abeyance
until the Commission had ratified it, but that has not yet come
to pass.
Q193 Chairman: There are at least two
others. Is there any evidence of any cost benefit analysis of
any of these absurd changes—these fantastically unnecessary
changes?
Mr Plant: I have not seen a cost
benefit analysis, no.
Q194 Chairman: Is there anyone either
amongst the operators or in the industry who is ever going to
do a calculation of what these changes are costing?
Sir Roy McNulty: I have not yet
seen anybody addressing their mind to that.
Q195 Chairman: It is nice to be rich!
Thank you, gentlemen. You have been very helpful and we are, as
always, extraordinarily grateful and delighted to see you.
Sir Roy McNulty: It is, as ever,
our pleasure, Chairman.
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