Alan Kelly (Labour)

Currently, there are eight flights from Belfast to Heathrow, whereas there is no competition on the Shannon-Heathrow route. British Airways has already quit Aldergrove. Is it not the long-term goal of Dermot Mannion to move long-haul slots from Heathrow to New York and elsewhere?

I ask the Government to use its shareholding to intervene on this issue. It is important to do so before we enter a scenario in which the interests of the area's businesses and workers are detrimentally affected or face a legal quagmire in which those involved study the definitions contained in the articles and memorandum of association, particularly the words "transfer" and "disposal".