I thank the Minister for that answer... [long detailed question]

Last month, 18 flights between Belfast City and Heathrow were cancelled... [long detailed question]

Flight cancellations are a significant issue... [long detailed question]

I think we have finally figured out why the shadow Secretary of State has not yet been able to make it to Northern Ireland... [long detailed question]

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I can sympathise with the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), and I thank him for tabling the urgent question, because we consistently have the same problem at Edinburgh and other Scottish airports, with a lack of connectivity and the disruption that that causes. I understand that the weather was a key reason for the delays this weekend, but another was delays at air traffic control, which is under pressure because of staff shortages and rising traffic. Eurocontrol, the main organisation supporting European airspace, has warned that to keep passengers safe and stop disruption better co-ordination is required between aircraft operators, airports and others across the continent. Will the Minister tell me what conversations the Secretary of State has had with European partners on building resilience in air traffic control? Do the Government have confidence in the robustness of air traffic control in the UK to serve our connectivity properly?

I thank the Minister for his response and for reiterating the importance of getting regional air connections right, as that can help to underpin economic growth. I hope he agrees that we should not allow ourselves to be distracted. Does he agree that large parts of our country could be better served by better regional rail connections, which would hopefully reduce some of the congestion at our airports?

Aberdeen airport is another that struggles with cancelled flights. Over 4% of flights were cancelled last year, which makes it one of the airports with the highest cancellation rates in the country. Does the Minister agree that we must make sure that all our regions in the UK, including Scotland, have a reliable connection, especially to London, for things such as business travel? Linking our rural communities to urban centres is really important, so what can his Government do to make sure that those things improve?

As the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) highlighted, reliable regional connectivity matters. When the Minister is looking at public service obligation routes, will he consider also looking at the transparency of the data coming out of those routes, at reliability, and at penalties for failure? It cannot be right that somebody gets the additional stress of a cancelled flight when they are trying to get to a hospital appointment.

Thank you for granting this urgent question, Mr Speaker, which as has been outlined is important to many of our constituents. When we sit in the airport lounge and talk to people who have had flights delayed, we see their frustration. I suspect, however, that you wish you had cancelled this urgent question—my hon. Friend the Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) delayed landing it and took so long that I saw you getting increasingly uneasy as you were listening to him. Increasingly we are finding flights delayed by one company in particular—British Airways—which has a monopoly on these flights. There is an economic lesson to be learned, which is that monopolies are abused. One has only to look at the price charged on some occasions, when someone could fly to Australia cheaper than they can fly to London with British Airways. Sometimes BA gives technical reasons or weather reasons for delaying a flight, but often it is because planes are not full and it amalgamates flights. Will the Minister commit to investigating with BA why the Belfast route is—

In his earlier answer the Minister spoke about growth and connectivity being important. How does the £2 increase—the holiday tax being added to airport duty—make a difference, especially when Ryanair has announced that it is going to cut 5 million seats? That will have a dramatic impact on anyone wanting to travel within the UK and across Europe. What impact assessment will the Government carry out to ensure connectivity?

Given the dissatisfaction we are hearing about connectivity in Northern Ireland, which is a critical part of the UK, it seems to me that in the next review of the public service obligation, the Minister must commit to include Belfast City airport and a review of the operators. Will he do so?

Everyone understands that there are cancellations due to weather and other issues beyond the control of airlines, but will the Minister meet the likes of BA to ensure that it understands the need for reliability, and for information to be given to customers as quickly and promptly as possible, so that they can take steps to make alternative arrangements if possible?

Does the Minister agree that good transport links between the rest of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland are vital for business and tourism, and that delays and cancellations look extremely bad in the eye of the public? Will he commit to contacting BA to try to resolve these issues?

What support will the Government provide to Northern Ireland airports to ensure our continued and improved connectivity? The previous Government promised £2.3 million to Belfast International airport in my constituency, under round 2 of the levelling-up fund, which would create jobs, reduce air and noise pollution, and improve the passenger experience. Will the Minister provide an update on that?

What conclusion does the Minister draw from the fact that dubious cancellations such as those we saw yesterday are far more prevalent where there is a commercial monopoly on the route, such as there is between Belfast City and London City airports, which was the route affected yesterday? If he draws the conclusion that connectivity is not helped by a monopoly, what action do the Government intend to take to encourage competition on such routes?