Flight Cancellations

Commons Urgent Question

The following Answer to an Urgent Question was given in the House of Commons on Tuesday 5 November.

“I know that the issue of connectivity across the UK is of great interest to the honourable Gentleman and many of his constituents, as connectivity strengthens the bond between our communities. Cancellations affect passengers and businesses, who rely on punctual services and connections, and have an impact on confidence. It is the responsibility of airlines and airports to work together to minimise delays and cancellations. Connectivity across our country is vital; the Government jointly fund three public service obligation routes to London, including from Derry/Londonderry.

However, the UK aviation market operates predominantly in the private sector, and it is for airports to invest in their infrastructure and for airlines to determine the routes that they operate. I recognise the importance of Belfast City and Belfast International airports for local communities and businesses. The Department for Transport is actively engaging with regional airports, including those in Northern Ireland, to understand how the Government can support and unlock opportunities for growth”.

12:04:00

My Lords, I start by joining with the Prime Minister in welcoming President Trump in his restoration to office. Cancelled flights are not merely a domestic phenomenon; they affect transatlantic journeys. In the reset that the Government will no doubt undertake now with the American Administration, perhaps they could work together to improve matters for us all in that regard. On own domestic arrangements, now that we have left the European Union, are the Government assessing whether the compensation scheme we inherited from the European Union could be improved for cancelled and delayed flights to give a better deal to the customer? Like rail nationalisation, the Minister could score it as a Brexit benefit.

Regulation 261/2004 sets out the rights of passengers in the event of flight disruptions, such as cancellations and long delays. On the noble Lord’s question, I have no current information about changing the arrangements, but I will certainly go away to see what can be done.

My Lords, I am interested in the noble Lord’s question, because one of his predecessors was keen on simplifying and downgrading the compensation in recent months. A key factor in this week’s problems and delays was staff shortages in air traffic control. Can the Minister confirm that the CAA is working to deal with this problem—a repeated problem—to ensure that sufficient staff cover is always available? Can he tell us what conversations the Government have had with our European partners at Eurocontrol, who have emphasised the need for better co-operation across countries to make sure that air passengers fly safely?

I can assure the noble Baroness that the Civil Aviation Authority is working on this and that the Department for Transport has had discussions with it. I cannot answer the question about more European co-operation, but I shall write to the noble Baroness to give her some information.

My Lords, I accept that the cancellation of flights due to weather conditions is beyond the control of airlines. However, last-minute cancellations by BA on flights from Belfast City to London City Airport surely undermine reliability and damage confidence in the business and tourism community and among the travelling public. Therefore, can the Minister commit to investigate the reasons for such cancellations on so many occasions and encourage the airlines to live up to their responsibilities?

I thank the noble Lord for his question related to the original Question. The UK aviation market operates predominantly in the private sector and it is for airports to invest in their infrastructure and airlines to determine the routes they operate. It is also for those two parties to minimise delays and cancellations. I recognise the number of cancellations in the past few days. My honourable friend the Aviation Minister recently met British Airways to discuss regional connectivity.

My Lords, I declare myself a victim of a cancellation on Monday. I was travelling from my home in Fermanagh, the most westerly part of the United Kingdom, at 7.45 am. I received an email at 8.15 am to tell me that my flight at 10.40 am had been cancelled. I was then booked on the 5 pm, which meant that I missed an entire day’s business here in the House of Lords. My question to the Minister is about consumer rights. When I was told the reason for the cancellation, it was “operational challenges”. Surely that is not good enough and surely there should be more clarity around cancellations.

The noble Baroness is entirely right that cancellations affect passengers and businesses relying on punctual services and connections and have an impact on confidence. Her particular case in point showed the damage done by short-notice cancellations. I will say only that that is a terrible phrase to use as an excuse, because it does not mean much—although I am familiar with other forms of transport that sometimes, sadly, also use phrases such as that. We will look at speaking to airlines to make sure that they give intelligible reasons for cancellations and delays, and their effect on the rights of passengers.

My Lords, does the Minister agree that removing UK air passenger duty on flights from Northern Ireland would encourage air carriers to open up new routes, allowing Northern Ireland airports to be more competitive with Dublin airport, which would prove beneficial for improving the economy and tourism in Northern Ireland?

The noble Lord will know that the air passenger duty on domestic flights was reduced quite recently to a relatively modest level. The Government are entirely committed to good air connections with Northern Ireland and to the promotion of its airports. I do not think that the removal of the duty—which is, in any case, a Treasury matter—would make a lot of difference. We are committed to good regional connectivity and the future prosperity of the airports in Northern Ireland.

My Lords, I, too, was a passenger on the flight on Monday morning that never was. If you looked at the schedules in advance, it was not there. I took up the email at 8.10 am, although fortunately I do not have so far to travel. On the wider point, however, this is becoming a repetitive issue. We understand operational challenges; we all have them and we all know that it is also from Covid, with the number of staff that were disposed of at the time. However, I brought a Bill through this House twice to guarantee slots for regional airports at Heathrow and it was rejected in the other place on the grounds that we were part of the European Union and therefore it could not be implemented. Now that that is no longer the case, will the Minister look with his department at ensuring that regional connectivity is guaranteed to Heathrow, because that is where the operational hub in the United Kingdom is? It also bears down on the airlines, because these slots are worth millions.

My understanding is that 18 flights were cancelled in the past four weeks, which is, of course, too many. As I have said, it is the responsibility of airlines and airports to work together to minimise delays and cancellations. The Government recognise completely the need for regional connectivity, particularly by air in Northern Ireland. My honourable friend the Aviation Minister is constantly reviewing the connectivity of Northern Ireland with all of the airports in the rest of the UK. I will take the point that the noble Lord has made and relay it to the Aviation Minister.

My Lords, I, too, was a passenger on the cancelled aeroplane. The reality is that, on this occasion, British Airways—which was the airline in question—knew the day before, or before that, that the plane had been cancelled. The airport also knew that the plane had been cancelled. The people who did not know that the plane had been cancelled were the people who were getting up to catch the plane. Does the Minister think it would be helpful if an additional penalty was introduced, payable to the customer who is inconvenienced in that situation?

It is clearly wrong for the transport provider and the airport to know that a flight is cancelled, but for the passengers not to know. Similar circumstances sometimes apply on other transport modes and it is unacceptable there, too. I agree with the noble Baroness that it is unacceptable: what needs to be done about it is another matter. I will speak further to my honourable friend the Aviation Minister to see what needs to be done to stop this practice. It is unacceptable.

My Lords, Regulation 261 is actually a robust regulation and I do not believe that the compensation is too little. In addition, in relation to the comment made by the noble Baroness regarding air traffic control issues, I do not believe that was the case either. However, there is clearly an issue here. Given the number of times this specific flight had been cancelled, with our noble colleagues, certainly those from Northern Ireland, so badly affected, it would be quite helpful, perhaps, if the Minister could speak with the Aviation Minister and get the CAA involved with this—because it deals directly with Regulation 261—to find out the specific issue to do with this flight. I do not believe it is a slots issue. Turning round and saying to passengers that this is an operational issue and giving people two hours’ notice, when they know that the flight has been cancelled the day before, means there is clearly something more going on. We would be very grateful if we could get more information on this specific issue, certainly to help our colleagues in Northern Ireland.

If I were the airline concerned, I would not cancel this particular flight. It seems to me that having your operational business discussed in this House is probably not helpful to your reputation. But I shall otherwise do exactly what the noble Baroness suggests.