Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding the Government has allocated to support a connection to an expanded Heathrow Airport from regional airports.

The Government expects that the majority of domestic routes will be commercially viable, as many are today, with support from Heathrow Airport. This support includes discounted charges for domestic passengers at Heathrow, and a £10 million Route Connectivity Fund for domestic services to and from Heathrow.

The Government will also take action, where appropriate, to secure routes through the use of Public Service Obligations (PSOs). PSOs provide the opportunity to offer exclusive rights to airlines to operate a route. The Government currently provides subsidies for three PSO routes to London: Newquay to Gatwick; Londonderry to Stansted; and Dundee to Stansted.

The Government’s approach to domestic connectivity will be set out in a Green Paper on the Aviation Strategy towards the end of this year, and the extent to which subsidies may be required can only be determined subject to market conditions nearer to the time at which new capacity becomes operational.