25 February 2000
John Prescott's plan to privatise the national air traffic control system is 'the worst of all possible options', according to an all-party committee of MPs.
The Commons transport committee said proposals to sell a 51% stake in the National Air Traffic Services (Nats) to a private operator threatened safety standards and could damage the British airline industry. A private owner would be 'very likely either to seek to cut costs, jeopardising safety, or increase revenues by raising charges to its customers, putting airlines and airports in the UK at a competitive disadvantage', said the MPs.
The committee urged Prescott to consider transferring Nats to a non-profit trust with the freedom to borrow on the financial markets.
Whitehall sources admitted the report could force ministers into a rethink. 'There is virtually no support for the proposal as it stands. It's very likely that we will be offering some concessions,' said one official.
Transport minister Lord MacDonald said he still believed a public-private partnership was 'the best possible option', but had not ruled out setting up a trust if government criteria on investment levels and safety could be met. 'But we have to reserve the right to go for any strategic partner of our choice,' he said.
Paul Noon, general secretary of the air traffic controllers' union, said: 'It's surely the last nail in the coffin for the PPP. Air traffic control staff don't want it, pilots don't want it and the travelling public don't want it.'
PFfeb2000
