Shadow Deputy Enterprise Minister Mr Adam Ingram MSP, today called on the Labour Government to reverse its part privatisation of the National Air Traffic Services (NATS). His call follows on from a ministerial rebuff from Stephen Byers to a NATS warning that it could ‘ultimately' risk financial collapse and would be unable to meet its liabilities if it were unable to raise its charges to airlines.

NATS has applied to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to raise its charges starting in January 2003 by an average of 5 percent over the next 3 years. This would mean reversal of the current price regime requiring NATS to reduce charges. NATS has drawn up plans to cut costs by 200 million pounds in the next 4 years the effects of which have already been felt at Atlantic House in Prestwick with cost cutting initiatives being implemented. Mr Ingram said:

"The refusal by Stephen Byers to bail out NATS means that the CAA's decision in April will be critical to the future of NATS. The writing for the new Prestwick Air Traffic Control Centre is clearly on the wall when NATS state explicitly that there is a ‘significant risk that cash flows in the business would be insufficient to service the capital required to fund investment'.

"In that context I do not understand how Sandra Osborne and George Foulkes could so uncritically swallow the assurances of NATS Chief Executive Richard Everitt that it remains committed to Prestwick.

"It is clear to me that the only way to guarantee that the new Prestwick Centre is built is for NATS to be brought back into public ownership and management control removed from the Airline Group which took over the running of NATS last summer. Sandra Osborne & George Foulkes should be advocating such action rather than misleading the public that ‘it will be alright on the night' so far as public safety and the building of a new Prestwick Air Traffic Control Centre is concerned."