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Civil Aviation Bill

The whole point is that they will not be expected to do that on their own—very far from it. This Bill is about ensuring that aircraft become less noisy and less polluting than at present, and it gives every incentive to airlines to improve the quality of their aircraft. My noble friend Lord Soley, supported by my noble friend Lord Berkeley, was discussing more broadly the issue of air quality at ground level and what can be done by airports in their ground-use activities with vehicles. I was responding to that point. The local authority is under an obligation to report on that and to identify where there are weaknesses. That weakness, if it were at its most crippling, would significantly impact on the operation of the airport, because the airport would not be able to both justify increased movements and meet our international obligations on air quality. Both my department and the British Airports Authority are carrying out detailed work with the Highways Agency and with rail interests and other key stakeholders to assess the options for improving public transport access. All of us get caught up in those most unattractive of features—traffic jams near Heathrow, on the motorway and adjoining roads. We all know the polluting qualities of the excessive traffic in the vicinity of Heathrow. We can improve public transport. As we know, the Heathrow link had some impact, and a lot more can be done to improve transport services generally. Less reliance on private vehicles arriving at Heathrow would do something to improve that area. It is so close to the M4 and the M25 that it is bad enough when those roads are flowing freely with just about a tolerable level of traffic, but we all know what they are like when there is excessive traffic. My department has a dedicated team producing a clear plan for taking the work forward, with the close involvement of the British Airports Authority and other stakeholders. Of course Heathrow is not the only airport with problems, but we all know that it is among the world’s great international airports. Scarcely any other airport has anything remotely like its movements or is so close to such a large urban population. It is only right that we tackle the issue from every conceivable direction. I assure my noble friends Lord Soley and Lord Clinton-Davis that we have this matter in hand and recognise its importance. I hope on that basis the noble Lord will feel able to withdraw his amendment.