Written question asked by Peter Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party) on Thursday, 10 November 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 14 November 2005. It was answered by Karen Buck (Labour) on Tuesday, 20 December 2005 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

UK Airspace (Access Denial)

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions in each of the last 10 years permission has been withheld to aircraft requesting access to UK airspace.

Answer: International civil aviation is governed by the Chicago Convention. Under the convention, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is responsible for establishing minimum safety standards which contracting states are required to implement. States are required to recognise the certificates issued by other contracting states unless they have reason to believe that they have not been issued in accordance with ICAO standards.Any airline from outside the EU, Iceland, Norway or Switzerland which wishes to pick up or put down passengers or cargo in the UK requires a permit from the Secretary of State for Transport. It is a condition of the permit that the airline should be operated in accordance with international safety standards established by ICAO.If we have doubts about whether an aircraft or airline complies with international safety standards we will arrange for the aircraft to be inspected by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Permits may be refused, and existing permits suspended or revoked by the Secretary of State. This may occur where there is a breach of a permit condition, which would include non-compliance with international safety standards; however action can also be taken for reasons other than safety. Permit decisions will be reviewed in the light of new information or changed circumstances. An up to date list of airlines which have been refused permits is maintained on the Department's website.

Secondary information