Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of Ryanair's decision to cancel 11,000 flights on the capacity and resilience of the UK transport system.

Mindful of the capacity and resilience of the UK transport system, we would expect that other airlines will have sufficient capacity to be able to accommodate those passengers who require alternative arrangements.

The Government’s priority has been to ensure that Ryanair are fulfilling their obligations to passengers affected by their cancellations. It is for Ryanair to manage their scheduling, and we would expect them to properly compensate passengers if they are not able to operate a flight.

The government has begun the process of developing a new aviation strategy for the UK, and through that process we will be exploring issues around capacity, resilience and the consumer experience of the aviation sector.