Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will actively promote the use of RAF Northolt to facilitate UK regional air links to Heathrow Airport; and whether he has made an assessment of the effect on connectivity of using RAF Northolt to facilitate regional air links.

I refer the Right Honourable Gentleman to the Airports Commission’s interim report of December 2013 conclusions on RAF Northolt.

In addition, RAF Northolt is owned and operated by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and is primarily a military resource. Any policy decisions on expansion of civil aviation operations at the airfield are the responsibility of the RAF and the MOD.