Part of Fuel and Electricity (Control) Bill – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 29 November 1973.
Mr Kenneth Warren
, Hastings
12:00,
29 November 1973
I was tempted to table an Amendment on this Clause, but I thought that it might be better to try to explore the Minister's intentions in regard to subsection (2)(c) where there is an opportunity given to him to give directions
to any person carrying on a business involving the use of such a substance "—
namely, fuel. Will he give an assurance that his Department will consult with other Government Departments which have the right and duty to regulate traffic and transportation procedure? I have in mind particularly the Ministry of Defence and its effect on air traffic control procedures in this country. I shall illustrate the size of the problem to give the Minister an idea why there should be coordination in the matter.
I have statistics from August to October inclusive for the three London Airports—Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. They show that in the London area we are now experiencing aircraft movements of civilian air traffic alone of the order of 500,000 per annum. One airline—British Caledonian—has provided certain hon. Members with information about its fuel usage. Fuel economy could be improved by co-ordination with Government Departments.
British Caledonian, with only 42,000 movements per annum—less than 9 per cent. of the total—has quoted five areas of improvement where the Government, particularly the Ministry of Defence and its agencies, like the Civil Aviation Authority, could help. The five areas in the whole year would give economies of 2 million gallons of fuel used by British Caledonian. The five areas would apply to all airlines. They are : air traffic control delays absorbed on the ground, with aircraft engines running—305,000 imperial gallons a year ; delayed climbs between take-off and cruising altitude, principally out of Gatwick, 840,000 imperial gallons ; holding at a radio beacon near Gatwick, 160,000 imperial gallons; certain radar problems at Gatwick, 45,000 imperial gallons ; and one direct routeing from Midhurst to Alderney would save 600,000 imperial gallons—a total for one airline of 2 million imperial gallons a year. That is the scale of saving that could be made by the Secretary of State and his colleagues in other Departments by ensuring that the Government do all they can in playing their part in helping this vital economy.
The five areas of improvement mean, therefore, that on the basis of one airline—British Caledonian—there could be a probable saving of 25 million to 30 million imperial gallons of fuel by all the airlines operating into this country. In addition, airlines operating over this country should be considered and there may be need for co-ordination with Western Europe. The Government called on us to save a little so that we would save a lot. But the Government have a principal part to play in saving a lot.
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