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Civil Aviation Bill

I want to make just a couple of comments. I congratulate the Minister and the shadow Minister on how well the Bill Committee was run. All members of the Committee contributed to the Bill and the best way forward. As an elected representative for Strangford in Northern Ireland, I have been contacted by three airports in Northern Ireland—Belfast City, Belfast International, and Londonderry—because they want to ensure that the current regulatory system is efficient. Some perceive inefficiency and say that the regulation is burdensome, and that the system clearly needs reform. In some ways, the Bill Committee tried to ensure that we can provide an efficient, flexible system that works well. If we have done so, it is good news. New clause 2 refers to an"““annual report on disabled and reduced mobility air transport passenger experiences””." Many hon. Members have been contacted by constituents —this point was made in Committee—who have particular and specific, but not unique, personal medical and health circumstances. They might have had an operation and now carry a colostomy bag, or they might have had metal inserted into their body to protect their spine or shin. As a result of wars all over the world, many people have lost limbs, and many soldiers and civilians have prosthetic limbs, yet when it comes to improving their experience in airports, we find that the process seems to be inflexible. I have heard complaints on that. The hon. Member for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (Tom Blenkinsop) introduced a ten-minute rule Bill on such problems, so the matter has been talked about before. I would like to know how we can improve the experience of airports for those people, who have made it clear to me as an elected representative—I suspect they have made it clear to other hon. Members—that their experience was not the best and asked how we can make it better. I believe that we can. I know that the Minister will assure us on that matter, and I look forward to her comments. Amendments 9 and 10 relate to the welfare plans and support for stranded passengers at airports. The shadow Minister mentioned the experience when an airplane does not go, passengers have to take a bus from A to B and they have no water and so on. A great many people have told me how their holiday turned out to be the opposite of what it should have been. There is a programme on Sky television about holiday nightmares. I do not know whether many people watch it. Those who watch television after midnight probably do. There have been many examples of such problems occurring. For ordinary people, our holiday is our chance to get away for two weeks, wherever it might be across the planet. It is an escape from the humdrum of life. But suddenly people find themselves catapulted into airport queues, the flight is an hour late and so on. That reminds me of the holiday package scheme. That is also part of the experience. People have told me that when they booked their holiday they felt it looked like a horse and smelt like a horse—if I may use that terminology—but that it turned out to be donkey. That might not be the best illustration in the world for air travel, but it explains, I hope, exactly where the issues lie. I am therefore seeking assurances from the Minister on traveller welfare and the necessary passenger commitment to ensure that travelling through airports is an experience people can enjoy as part of their holiday. I always think, when I go on holiday—I go once a year for two weeks—that my holiday starts when I leave the house, and it is the same for many others. The experience at the airport is part of the holiday, which is why we need some assurances.