asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give the landing fees for commercial aircraft at Gibraltar; and what is the extent to which they exceed the commercial cost of landing.

Civil aircraft using the airfield at RAF Gibraltar are charged at the following rates:

Landing fees: £2·10 per metric tonne.

Navigation services charge: £2·10 per metric tonne.

In addition, international flights are subject to a surcharge of 12½ per cent. on the navigation service charge only; and operations outside the normal airfield hours are subject to a 75 per cent. surcharge on both the landing fee and the navigation services charge. These charges are based on the rates which obtain at comparable commercial airfields in the United Kingdom, and are those generally made at MOD airfields. In the case of Gibraltar the charges levied do not meet the additional costs to the Defence budget which civil operations cause.