Mary Creagh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2014-04-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which airports meet the eligibility criteria for the Regional Air Connectivity Fund; and how much each such airport has been awarded in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Department for Transport is in detailed discussions with regional councils regarding two air routes that might qualify for support through a Public Service Obligation under financial provisions announced by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury in the 2013 Spending Round last July, to maintain regional air access to London. Of these, Dundee Council is currently tendering for an airline to operate a service between Dundee Airport and London.

The Chancellor announced in this year’s Budget that support will also be made available for start-up aid for new air routes from UK regional airports. European Union aviation State aid guidelines allow for start-up aid to be provided under certain conditions to facilitate development of new routes from Member State airports which handle fewer than five million passengers per year.

The Department for Transport is working with the Treasury to develop guidance clarifying how the Government will ordinarily expect to interpret the European Union State aid guidelines, and explain how the funding process will operate.