Civil Aviation Bill – business as usual on Third Reading

13th October, 2005

The Civil Aviation Bill passed Third Reading unamended on 10th October.

On 10 October the Civil Aviation Bill received its third reading in the House of Commons. There were numerous speeches in favour of deleting the infamous ‘night flights’ clause, which would clear the way for the Government to regulate night flights at the three London airports solely on the basis of a Quota Count scheme. Despite a clear majority of informed opinion opposing the clause, when put to a vote the amendment that would have removed it was defeated.A further amendment providing for fairer, more independent consultative committees, tabled for AEF by the Liberal Democrats, had just been mentioned when the allotted time ran out.Although the debate was quite thinly attended, opposition MPs were vocal in expressing their frustration at the intransigence of Aviation Minister Karen Buck, frequently interrupting her speech. Perhaps the unmistakable mood will give her pause for thoughtThe Bill now passes to the Lords. Although AEF has strong contacts here and the Government has no majority, any amendments passed by the Lords can be rejected by the Commons. We are therefore not hopeful of securing any lasting amendments.
Read the full transcript of the debate.

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