Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to make changes to airport slot allocation rules to protect access for dedicated air freight and cargo services.

The government recognises the crucial role air freight plays in transporting goods to and from the UK, which benefits consumers and businesses and facilitates growth in large parts of the economy beyond aviation.

Airport Coordination Limited, the UK’s independent slot coordinator is responsible for allocating slots at the UK’s slot coordinated airports. The UK Government is not involved in slot allocation and has no power to intervene in this process.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is currently undertaking its review of the 1991 Traffic Distribution Rules after consulting stakeholders more widely. Once the review has concluded and the CAA has provided its advice, the government will give this careful consideration before determining next steps.