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Civil Aviation Bill

I welcome the opportunity to speak in support of the Bill in this Second Reading debate. It is a good Bill, which addresses several important issues that have been debated in some detail this afternoon. It is a measured and balanced Bill, which considers some of the difficult issues that we face and tries to provide a pragmatic mechanism for dealing with the challenges before the industry. I predicate all my comments on the fact that I am a big supporter of the industry and I always have been. I endorse the views of my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Blackley (Graham Stringer) in identifying the important role that it plays in economic development.