Mike Kane
MP for Wythenshawe and Sale East · Labour · United Kingdom
“I thank the Minister for his answers, and I am sure he will join me in thanking the management and staff of Manchester airport, who have worked overtime to minimise the disruption to passengers over the last couple of days. The Minister will be as aware as I am that we are in danger of playing regulatory whack-a-mole here.”
“The Secretary of State knows my constituency well, and she knows that I have been campaigning for several years to regenerate Wythenshawe civic centre. Thanks to this Government, we are about to cut the turf on building 2,000 new homes within the decade, and phase one starts with building 800 social homes in the next few weeks.”
“Mr Speaker, if there is a five-a-side doctor in the House, I would be most grateful. Following the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Adam Jogee), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is one of the big killers in my constituency of Wythenshawe and Sale East.”
“My constituents Darren and Nicole shared with me their story of hardship in raising five children on one income. Like me, they are grateful to this Chancellor for ending the two-child benefit cap.”
“It would be profoundly wrong of this House to disregard the risks faced by members of the armed forces, the police, the emergency services and civilians during that time, including the teacher who wrote to me today to say how difficult the situation was.”
“This is our last chance for those who remember. The purpose of the Bill, as I see it, is not to deny the experience of those who served the state in good faith. On the contrary, it reflects a recognition that for decades the legacy of the past has not been addressed properly or lawfully.”
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“I thank the hon. Member for his intervention, but seriously, after 14 years, those types of excuses are wearing extraordinarily thin, if he does not mind my saying so. I hope the Minister will outline what is being done to address this chaos—costs are still going up after the decision in October—to ensure that those impacted receive the compensation that they deserve, as Members have well underlined, and that the same mistakes are not made again and again in future. I look forward to hearing the Minister’s remarks. Once again, I thank the hon. Member for Stafford for securing the debate and all Members who have participated.”
“The Minister mentions sexual offences, but it frustrates me beyond belief that my constituents have to wait on average 839 days for their cases to be heard. Is the distress caused taken into account, or is the system too broken?”
“The one tradition that has been upheld today is that of the Paymaster General coming to the House to make a statement that says nothing. He is the ninth Paymaster General since the inquiry was announced, and they keep saying nothing. In the past fortnight alone, he has had to face oral questions and has been defeated in the voting Lobbies, and the Prime Minister was asked a question about this on Wednesday, but we are still no nearer where we need to be. This is a cruel, cruel tease, is it not?”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I smile because I am welcoming the Minister to his place perhaps half a dozen Ministers since I first stood at the Dispatch Box—but the best of luck to him in the time ahead. [ Laughter. ] Decarbonising maritime will require unprecedented investment in UK technologies, with visionary policy and regulatory frameworks that limit ships’ emissions and mandate the use of clean fuels. When will the Government follow the advice issued by the Transport Committee in June and streamline the muddle of 184 recommendations it set for itself in “Maritime 2050”? Speaking of which, we were promised a refreshed “Maritime 2050” in 2023 by one of the Secretary of State’s many predecessors. There are a handful of days left. Where is it?”
“May I concur with the Prime Minister’s comments about our armed forces, Christmas and Mark Drakeford? My constituent Fred Bates is 74, he has liver cancer and he is a victim of the contaminated blood products scandal. The Prime Minister had a chance to do right by Fred last week, but he failed to do so and lost the vote in this House. After half a century, Fred wishes to know when he and fellow survivors will be compensated and get justice.”
“Rwandan Foreign Affairs Minister Biruta has said tonight: “Without lawful behaviour by the UK, Rwanda would not be able to continue with the Migration and Economic Development Partnership.” Without lawful behaviour, Home Secretary? It is being reported in the press that the Rwandan Government are getting cold feet because this deal is too toxic for them. Is that the case?”
“T4. The right hon. Member for Salisbury (John Glen) is the ninth Paymaster General since the contaminated blood inquiry reported. We have worked together on mesothelioma and other issues, so I know he is of good faith, but my constituent Fred Bates, who was a victim of the contaminated blood scandal, is now 74 and needs to know whether he will get compensation before it is too late.”
“My constituent Jess McNichols, who is receiving treatment for cancer at the Christie Hospital in Manchester, missed an important medical appointment due to the general disruption of Royal Mail services. Her letter arrived late. Could the Leader of the House counsel me on how best to raise this case further in this place?”
“Cumulatively, Manchester City Council’s and Trafford Council’s cuts since 2010 have been £443 million and £288 million respectively. The Local Government Association says that the funding gap will be £4 billion in the next two years. Was there anything in this statement that will stop the continuing crumbling of our local services?”
“I know the independent review panel is considering, among other things, the immediate causes of the incident and how to prevent a repeat occurrence from happening in the future. It is also looking into airlines’ and airports’ costs of providing care, assistance and rerouting to customers. It is clear that, for some time, there has been a significant gap in the guidance. I hope the draft instrument will clear up the confusion and avert further legal challenge.”
“The industry has also called for a clearer definition of extraordinary circumstances, and I agree. What is an extraordinary circumstance? On 28 August this year, a technical issue caused many hundreds of flights to be delayed or cancelled. I know a UK Civil Aviation Authority investigation is under way and do not want to pre-empt its findings, but I am concerned that, at the time this happened, the Government stated that it was a one in 15 million chance and would not happen again. It struck me that, to arrive at that figure, someone had looked at the total number of flightpaths handled within the automated system—about 15 million—and decided that, because it happened only once, that made the occurrence a one in 15 million chance. Is that an extraordinary circumstance?”
“With the lack of support given to the aviation sector by the Government over the past few years, during the pandemic, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that airlines will go to the wall, leaving consumers out of pocket again. EU regulation No. 261/2004 provided for fixed sum compensation in some circumstances, but that does not apply to cancellations more than two weeks in advance, or where a cancellation or long delay is due to “extraordinary circumstances”. The draft SI restates the key principle and provides clarity on the rights of the passenger, but the industry has been clear that airlines are not responsible for delays and cancellations caused by circumstances outside their control, particularly when they have taken reasonable steps to avoid the delay or cancellation.”
“It is also open to airlines to offer incentives to passengers to encourage them to fly at a later date—for example, by providing vouchers of a higher value. Last year, however, certain airlines sat on hundreds of millions of pounds of consumers’ money, having issued vouchers which in many cases were time limited. A report in the consumer press last year reported that some vouchers had just six months left on them. That “use it or lose it” element is bizarre and cannot be fair. Consumers should not be left having to fight for refunds, or go through an alternative dispute resolution process to find out how they can get their money back. Furthermore, if passengers are given a credit note, the vouchers are not protected by the air travel organisers’ licence, so if the airline goes bust, their money is lost.”
“It is right that we ensure that the financial recompense is, at the very least, sufficient, clear and easily accessed by consumers. When flights are cancelled or there are lengthy delays, airlines are required to assist passengers by providing information on their rights, and providing care and assistance during the disruption. The assistance includes, but is not limited to, providing meals during the delay, allowing passengers to communicate messages, and providing hotel accommodation. Airlines must also provide transfers to and from hotels for overnight delays, and passengers must be offered the choice of a refund, rerouting on alternative flights as soon as possible. It is important that airlines assist passengers by clearly setting out the options available to them.”
“According to a recent report I read, in the first six months of this year, a staggering 6,665 UK flights were cancelled within that timescale. It is vital that we beef up protections for passengers who in good faith book tickets for business, for leisure and holidays, or to be reunited with family, only to find that they are not able to travel. The statutory instrument is designed to maintain the status quo and clarify the safeguards on consumer rights in the UK aviation industry. The financial cost is often incidental to travel. What is important is the time taken in wasted annual leave, the dashed expectation and the disruption to life of many thousands of travellers when flights are cancelled. We have yet to develop a means to compensate them for the time and emotions expended in missed weddings, business meetings and family reunions.”
“We have a world-class aviation sector, and it is important that it is represented in the Commons. Unfortunately the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire—my sixth opposite number in government—is not here today, but as Woody Allen said, 80% of success is turning up, so I am glad the hon. Member for Hexham is here to represent the other 20% today. The draft regulations aim to establish commonality and clear rules on compensation and assistance for passengers in the event of denied boarding, cancellation or long delay of flights. These have often been legally challenged, so clarification is necessary for that reason alone. A cancellation is defined as a flight being axed within 72 hours of its scheduled departure time.”
“We may be footballing rivals at the weekend, Mr Twigg, supporting Liverpool and Manchester City—I feel my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, West Derby breathing down my neck as well—but it is always a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship. I welcome the Minister to his place and to the active travel brief. I had the great pleasure of cycling the sea-to-sea coastal route from Carlisle to Newcastle, through his beautiful constituency, just recently. I saw the sycamore tree in the gap literally days before it was felled, so I get to have it recorded in Hansard how sad I was about that. I know the tree is not technically in the Minister’s constituency. I welcome the fact that aviation is back on the Green Benches and no longer on the Red Benches.”
“The hon. Gentleman has a beautiful constituency and a beautiful cathedral, and I got to see the Staffordshire hoard when I stayed overnight there. I shall escape from this Committee room and run to the House of Commons Library, where I promise to look up the federal regulation—”
“It may be because I have an airport in my constituency, or because of my shadow ministerial role, but I receive more casework than that every year. How was the consultation promoted? Which advocacy and support groups were informed of the consultation? How many of the respondents were elderly people or people with disabilities? The Opposition will not oppose the statutory instrument today, but we ask for wider consultation on such measures.”
“Regarding the consultation on the instrument, I note that there was no external consultation. The explanatory memorandum states that “Department for Transport Ministers and officials have regular engagement with the aviation industry. The Department also works closely with the CAA” and the EU. I understand very well why there was no external consultation on the instrument, as it merely replicates and clarifies existing legislation, but I have questions about the responses on consumer rights and how to ensure that in future consultations are more widely promoted. The Government consultation last year on consumer reform garnered only 65 responses, with only 29% of them coming from individuals. I find it very hard to believe that fewer than 19 people in total have an opinion on such matters.”
“Sorry, but I have to be on the other side of a general election before that would be worthwhile. We will see though; that is not hubris. Returning to the definition of extraordinary circumstances, is an outbreak of sickness among the crew extraordinary? Bird strike? I do not know the answer, and I wonder whether we all need clearer guidance on what constitutes an extraordinary circumstance. As I said, the industry feels strongly that airlines should not be held responsible for delays and cancellations caused by circumstances outside their control and where they have taken reasonable steps to avoid the disruption. They argue strongly that changes to compensation should not remove the current approach, but should keep the status quo. The industry also called for clarification of the definition of extraordinary circumstances.”
“The £20 million announced for Wythenshawe town centre today is testament to the hard-working leadership team at Manchester City Council. However, my personal thanks goes to Gavin Taylor from the Far East Consortium, who helped me kickstart this project just over two years ago. My thanks also go to the Minister. The money unlocks, with all the other things, the potential for 2,000 much-needed homes. Without sounding like Oliver Twist, may I ask the Minister to talk to his colleagues at the Department of Health and Social Care and request that they look again at the exciting plans at Wythenshawe Hospital just up the road, which could deliver an extra 1,000 homes on top?”
“The plan is set to deliver up to 5 million square feet and 16,000 jobs, with companies such as The Hut Group, Amazon and DHL already working on site. Wythenshawe and Sale East has a plan to get Britain building and to grow our economy. We have a world-class airport, an Airport City enterprise zone, the Wythenshawe Hospital masterplan and plans for the development of Wythenshawe and Sale town centres. This is the Prime Minister’s first King’s Speech, yet he has nothing to say on housing and it includes more division and more of the same. What is needed to deliver the economic growth our country needs is change. Change is the question at the next election and the answer is Labour. A Labour Government will offer a decade of national renewal and replace the 13 years of national decline that we have had.”
“This is not getting Britain building; it is blocking Britain building and flatlining our economic growth. My area also has the Airport City masterplan. Manchester airport in my constituency is the largest UK airport outside London, and it provides international and domestic passenger and freight connectivity for the whole of northern Britain. I welcome the Government’s pledge in the King’s Speech to begin to look at consumer protection and the consumer experience in our airlines industry. The current transformation plan at my local airport will support 50 million passengers by 2030. There is still much to do; surface transport, the fabric of the estate and active travel all need to be addressed.”
“The delivery model proposed for the development of Wythenshawe Hospital is a financially driven, phased construction approach, using blended funding. That funding solution could leverage the many commercial, health and social-related investment opportunities afforded by the site’s prime location, while supporting the requirement of reduced levels of NHS capital. However, to realise this opportunity, Government and Treasury support is needed to unlock a technical solution to the current NHS capital regime. It is now more than 18 months since the approval of the masterplan and we have seen zero progress from this Government on a workable solution, although I am grateful to Lord Markham for engaging with me and with Homes England on this issue.”
“We have an approved masterplan for Wythenshawe Hospital in my constituency, which will see the transformation of the increasingly out-of-date hospital campus into a state-of-the-art health village, with affordable housing for nurses and an aparthotel. It will also create world-class research facilities in the health and care sector, a sustainable campus that delivers a commitment to be net zero by 2038, and other complementary uses, such as hotels, conferencing, training and retail. All of that will be done while delivering inclusive growth, which will derives maximum benefit through local job creation and employment and training opportunities, ensuring that it is local people who see the benefit, in addition to those in the region.”
“In Wythenshawe town centre, Manchester City Council has invested £20 million in plans to provide a once-in-a-generation programme of regeneration, including more than 1,600 new homes—it should not be this difficult. Those homes will breathe new life, jobs and vital economic activity into the town centre. In Sale town centre, in addition to the successful regeneration of Stanley Square by Altered/Space, Trafford Council has bought and is demolishing Sale magistrates court in order to build dozens of new and affordable homes on the site. It has regeneration plans for other locations in the town centre, including the leisure facilities and the public realm. However, both bids to the levelling-up fund—for Wythenshawe and for Sale—were rejected by the Government.”
“We need faster approval of critical infrastructure, we need investment in the industries of the future, we need to get more people owning their own homes and we must raise living standards. In my constituency, we have oven-ready schemes that would help achieve our ambition—schemes would unlock the delivery of more than 3,000 homes, enable the development of world-class health and care research facilities, and create thousands of jobs and opportunities across growth sectors. The Government are aware of those schemes, and should and could have supported Manchester and Trafford to deliver them. The two town centres in my constituency, Wythenshawe and Sale, submitted bids to the last round of the levelling-up fund.”
“It is a pleasure to follow the balanced and thoughtful speech by the hon. Member for Waveney (Peter Aldous). Securing high, sustained economic growth in every part of the country is an ambition we should all have in this House. The challenge lies in how we go about achieving that ambition. The Government’s plan just is not working. At the start of the year, the Prime Minister and Chancellor promised to get the economy growing; instead growth is flatlining, as the shadow Chancellor mentioned. The Bank of England has downgraded its economic forecasts and the International Monetary Fund forecasts that the UK will have the lowest growth in the G7 next year. Labour does have a plan: one that will grow the economy and get Britain building again.”
“Fresh from slashing and burning HS2 while in Manchester and spouting crank conspiracy theories, the Secretary of State announced Network North. However, that dodgy sounding 1970s ITV franchise does not have a single project with an approved business case, and plans are valued at 2019 prices. There was no promise to my hon. Friend the Member for Bradford East (Imran Hussain) a minute ago. Network North is literally not worth the paper it is written on, is it, Minister?”
“They announced a tram to my constituency that was opened in 2014, and they launched Network North, which sounds like a dodgy 1970s ITV franchise and was done on the back of a fag packet. The industry was not impressed by the fact that the Secretary of State—who is not here—was making up conspiracy theories on the floor of the conference hall about 20 mph zones and 15-minute cities.”
“The Minister said that the regulations before the House are a small piece of legislation. He is right, and scholars of Parliament will look back at this motion coming to the Floor of the House as a strange occurrence. Usually, we are up in the gods in this place, in a draughty, dusty Committee room off a long corridor in this great edifice, but this Government have run out of legislation to consider in those Committee rooms, and have to bring this to the Floor of the House. They have run out of time, and they are fast running out of track. When we talk about the general demise of transport in the United Kingdom, we can see that the Government came to Manchester to cancel HS2—they cancelled it to my city in my city.”
“As passenger demand is still in a recovery phase and we feel the hangover of the covid pandemic industry-wide, it is more important than ever to consider ways to future-proof our airspace and achieve lower emissions in the process.”
“Have the extraordinary circumstances we found ourselves in in 2020 now become the norm in the aviation sector? Earlier this year, the Minister suggested that there would be a consultation on slots reform later in the year. Could I be updated on the progress of that consultation? I have previously raised—and will continue to raise—the issue of airspace modernisation, which I know is something the Minister was keen on when he held that post. That issue needs to be addressed strategically, so when will we see more progress on it? We could cut carbon tomorrow by 10%, 20% or 30% if we upgraded our airspace. We have an analogue system in a digital age.”
“I believe the current figure is that, on average, we are at around 88% of those 2019 levels. Do the Government have a plan for what they will do in March 2024, four years after the first debate of this nature took place? The sector has still not bounced back fully. In May this year, I raised the point that the Government’s approach was a very short-term one and, even taking that into consideration, impact assessments were not being fully carried out. The Minister at the time assured me that the Government would continue to monitor impacts as they went. Have they been doing so, and what are their findings? I am still keen to see a retrospective assessment of the impact of the measures to ensure that these steps are proportionate—neither too harsh nor too weak.”
“As I referenced earlier, many of those problems were predicted and avoidable: we cannot hollow out a skilled workforce with security requirements and expect there to be no impact on the consumer. Can the Minister update me on the work the Government have done to strengthen consumer rights, ensuring that passengers are paid compensation and refunds that they are entitled to in a timely fashion? We know that many airlines sit on tens of millions of pounds-worth of vouchers that were claimed during the pandemic, which are due to run out for customers. These measures were brought in under exceptional circumstances. In a previous debate of this nature with one of the Minister’s predecessors back in 2021, it was said that it would take until 2023 for air traffic volumes to increase back to 2019 levels.”
“The other main provision is a limited slot hand-back of up to 5% of all slots, which are to be handed back before the start of the season. The justification for that is to ensure minimum delay and cancellations for consumers; however, the autumn timetable begins in just 11 days. The explanatory memorandum says that passengers are expected to benefit from the relief contained in the legislation by retaining good levels of historic connectivity, but also points out the downside of this provision: a potential negative impact on the marketplace. The regulations are important to enable more airlines to deliver realistic winter schedules, and should minimise the cancellations and delays that have blighted the industry over the past few years.”
“With the benefit of hindsight, the Government’s failure to support our world-class aviation sector during the pandemic has led us here. We, as well as workforce representatives and unions, warned the Government that, if tens of thousands of skilled, trained workers were sacked or let go during the pandemic, it would be nigh on impossible to get back up to full speed—to be dynamic and react to industry demands. The two main provisions in the regulations act as a safety net for airlines. The first allows them to justify not using a slot if new restrictions are to be introduced on particular routes. Of course, I hope that that will never be necessary, but if it should be, what data and metrics will be used? Does the Minister have an agreed plan with industry on this?”
“As we know, the “use it or lose it” rule was relaxed throughout the pandemic: it was dropped to 70:30 to ensure that no environmentally damaging ghost flights were taking off. That was the right decision. Slots are commercially important and highly prized by airlines, giving them a monopoly on a route. Since the pandemic, there has been a strong recovery in passenger numbers and we are all grateful for that. However, the aviation industry can still exhibit a lack of resilience and some uncertainty at times and some routes are still not yet at capacity. The pandemic has left airlines and airports with little resilience and tight staffing numbers and, as the Minister has mentioned, there are issues with aircraft availability and the global supply chain.”
“I am coming on to that. This is about the general demise of transport—about abandoning the centre ground and abandoning an industry. We do not even have a Minister for aviation or for maritime in the House of Commons, whereas we in Labour support aviation and maritime to the hilt. When the Secretary of State was making up those conspiracy theories, the Minister—who is so keen on active travel: he walks the walk, talks the talk, and rides his bike as well—must have had his head in his hands. We in Labour offer industry reassurance and hope that things will get better. To respond to the right hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead (Sir Mike Penning), let us talk about the motion at hand.”
“With no mechanism for student finance, many aspiring pilots take extreme measures, such as multiple loans and—when they can—credit cards, borrowing from friends and families or, as Baroness Vere said as Aviation Minister back in 2019, relying on the bank of mum and dad to get through training. In May this year, the Government published a report called, “Addressing the cost of pilot training”, which was a fascinating 62-page read in preparation for this debate—”
“We are in this debate because two flight schools have closed, one at Dundee airport and the other at Shoreham airport—I say that before I am admonished by the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham, as my notes call it Brighton City airport—which is a sad loss of the jobs for trainers and staff. As the hon. Member for Strangford said, we have a world-class aviation sector in the UK, and we want to keep it that way. The closure of those valuable facilities most severely impacted the aspiring student pilots who were just setting out on their careers. The closures left them and their families seriously out of pocket, as we have heard. Commercial pilot training can cost up to £150,000 and is not currently eligible for student funding, which is available for other professions such as law and medicine.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Robert. I, too, congratulate the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) on the powerful personal testimony that he brought to us of constituents and others affected by the closure of flight schools. I also congratulate the hon. Members for North Antrim (Ian Paisley) and for Strangford (Jim Shannon) on their testimonies. For one moment, I thought the Democratic Unionist party was getting on a biblical stage—the tale of two sons, like Cain and Abel, one becoming a farmer and the other a shepherd. One will become a pilot and, on behalf of His Majesty’s official Opposition, I wish that son well in his endeavours.”
“I look forward to the Government’s acting on the recommendations of their own report, “Options for addressing the cost of pilot training”, and ensuring a pipeline of talent from all demographics.”
“A 2020 study shows that the emerging shortage of qualified pilots is a high priority for airlines. Respondents to the flight operations survey noted upcoming pilot shortages as a top five focus, and 22% said it was their leading focus. The collapse of the schools only serves to highlight a number of issues in flight schools and wider issues with pilot training: flight schools’ operating models, funding for aspiring pilots, lack of diversity in the workforce and the complexity of the first officer apprenticeship scheme, which by its own construction and in its current format is destined to fail. There is much to be done to ensure that the job of a pilot is open to all, not just to those with a well-resourced bank of mum and dad.”
“Moreover, there is a concern that the cost of training to secure a pilot’s licence in the UK may begin to put UK airlines at a competitive disadvantage relative to counterparts in the European Union, where pilot training is less expensive. Other changes have an impact on that situation: since the UK exited the EU, potential non-UK candidates now require settled status to live and work in the UK. In addition, those undergoing pilot training in the UK will be required to sit additional exams to get additional licence approval, which has additional cost and time implications for students. Taking those matters into consideration, there is a real concern that trainees will opt out of a UK licence and fly on an EU licence only, which will significantly reduce the pool of pilots available here.”
“There was an attempt to address diversity in the pilot workforce with the creation of a first officer apprenticeship, which is a level 6 qualification that involves training as a co-pilot over a two-year period. Although the scheme is welcome, it is flawed by its very design. Industry sources have said that the £27,000 funding cap is not sufficient to cover flight training. Furthermore, apprentices cannot be asked to take on debt to supplement their training, which puts the onus on the airlines. There are restrictions on bonding apprentices to training providers, but airlines are likely to be unwilling to invest sufficient sums of money in a person who might leave immediately on qualifying. Almost by design, the scheme is flawed.”
“Kids like me ruled out ever becoming a pilot, because there was not, and clearly still is not, a route for working-class children and children with no access to credit who were unwilling or unable to go into debt to fund the training. If I may, I will quote Baroness Vere again: back in 2019, she said that “social mobility is a fundamental right and it should not be that some people are blocked out of entire careers just because they don’t have the ‘Bank of Mum & Dad’”. The cost of learning to fly not only plays a key role in limiting the pool of talent that the profession can draw on, but hampers the diversity of the pilot community.”
“There is little doubt that being unable to operate would impact on such businesses. For example, Lufthansa Aviation Training suspended its training from the beginning of the pandemic. Interestingly, Lufthansa was able to offer all its 850 students full refunds. I wonder whether the chaos in the sector and the refusal by the Government to offer a sector-specific deal might have added to the knock-on effects we see now. The heavy reliance on self-funding creates barriers to entry to the pilot profession, disproportionately affecting some demographic groups more than others. Only 6% of pilots worldwide are women, and just 4% are from BAME communities. How can that be? I would be interested to find out the figures for children of a traditional working-class background who cannot rely on the bank of mum and dad.”
“In addition to that, the students are unsecured creditors, so there is no legal requirement for them to be repaid the money—morally, however, that is another issue. In the decade since 2007, the average cost of initial pilot training in the UK increased by about 54%. Various academic and industry studies undertaken on pilot recruitment have noted that of the thousands of potential pilots who start flight training every year, about 80% leave. The failure to fund tuition fully is cited as a major reason for the drop-out rate. Research commissioned by the Department for Transport showed that increasingly dynamic market conditions in the light of covid-19 meant: “Training organisations and airlines suffered financially from lack of operation during the pandemic and lockdowns”.”