(Gloucester)
(Con): Axing all the remaining covid restrictions for
outgoing travellers will be warmly welcomed by those working in
the travel, aviation, airport and aerospace sectors, including my
wife and many Gloucester constituents. Those are all areas of
expertise and employment across the UK. Does my right hon. Friend
share my pride and enthusiasm for the new record-breaking
electric aircraft, the Spirit of Innovation, developed at
Gloucestershire airport, and the new hydrogen aircraft developed
at Kemble airport, also in Gloucestershire, showing that in a
county famed for the first ever jet-engined aircraft take-off, we
can now focus on an exciting future for travel and aviation at
much less cost to the environment?
The Secretary of State for Transport (): I thank my hon. Friend
for his comments. I do not want to disappoint him or his wife. It
is incoming traffic that will have the reduction in bureaucracy.
On outgoing, we still encourage people to check with the FCDO. As
I pointed out a couple of times, most other countries still have
some restrictions. But is he right about that electric aircraft,
which is a Rolls-Royce project—the
world’s fastest flying electric aircraft being produced right
here in the UK? He is. ZeroAvia is producing the world’s first
hydrogen aircraft, which is now on its second version, a larger
20-seat aircraft. There is a lot of innovation, backed by £180
million, to assist all this decarbonisation of aviation. It is
very exciting and it leads to a very strong future for British
aviation...
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