Member

The first reason, as I understood the Minister to say, is that something may happen and we need to be prepared. It is always true, of course, that something may happen and we need to be prepared. I am not disputing that, but the independent company that allocates slots, referred to by my noble friend Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate, already has emergency powers to create this sort of alleviation. No airline loses a slot because it cannot fly to a destination where there is a threat of being hit by a bomb. You do not fly, but you do not lose the slot; the alleviation comes with it because of the circumstances. No airline loses a slot because there is no fuel to put in the tank—that would be absurd. So this system already exists in many ways, and it is difficult to know what the Government are doing in setting this up.