Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has she made of the potential impact on airline ticket prices from Heathrow Airport of the need to fund the public consultation process for the proposed third runway.

The Government is committed to delivering a third runway at Heathrow in a cost-effective way. The Civil Aviation Authority have launched a consultation on their working paper of regulatory options in their role as the independent economic regulator for the aviation industry. They propose several criteria for assessing future regulatory models, including how effective these options are in keeping costs for the travelling public low.

Aviation operates predominantly in the private sector, with ticket prices determined by many factors including competition between airlines.