Safety fear over air traffic sell-off

JOHN PRESCOTT brushed aside warnings about safety as he announced the part-privatisation of Britain's air traffic control services yesterday.

Despite protests from the leaders of 5,000 air traffic staff and pilots, Mr Prescott signalled that the proposals would be included in the Queen's Speech in November and legislation would follow in 2000.

Mr Prescott said the National Air Traffic Services (Nats) sell-off - in which 46 per cent of the equity would be taken by a "private partner",

5 per cent handed to employees and 49 per cent held by the state - would improve safety.

But the proposal was rejected as unconvincing, dangerous and unnecessary by three unions which said the new organisation would want to cut back on key safety staff to maximise returns.

Terry Adams, of the PCS union which represents engineers at Nats, warned that the sell-off was a "risky project which could literally have fatal consequences". Paul Noon, the leader of the IPMS union which represents controllers, said that safety would "play second fiddle" to profit.

Both officials declared that Nats employees would not be "bought off" by the allocation of 5 per cent of the shares which could be worth up to pounds 5,000 to each individual. Mr Noon did not rule out industrial action in opposition to the plans.

Pilots said ministers were embarking on a "gamble" simply to raise cash. Christopher Drake, the general secretary of the British Airline Pilots' Association, said there was no guarantee that aviation safety would be improved.

Revealing his strategy, Mr Prescott said a "new partnership company" would be responsible for running the service, but the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) would regulate its activities, he said.

The state would retain a "golden share" to ensure sound practice and protect government rights. Mr Prescott said it was not "an old fashioned privatisation" and further legislation would be needed if the whole company were to be sold off.

In an attempt to allay union fears, the Secretary of State for Transport, the Environment and the Regions said that staff would be represented on a "stakeholders' council".

Mr Prescott said Nats did not have the full range of management skills required and it needed access to capital to cope with increasing traffic. The plan would secure pounds 1bn of investment over 10 years. Safety would still be paramount and the separation of the regulation of the system and service provision would ensure that.

Sir Roy McNulty, the chairman of Nats, "strongly supported" the decision, arguing that the provision of private investment would be the key to safety. He said: "Management will have greater freedom to manage and the opportunity to export the expertise it has built up. We have the chance to turn the service from a British success story into a world success story." Sir Malcolm Field, the chairman of the CAA, said it was "excellent" news.

Mr Adams emphasised that yesterday's initiative was "an announcement, not legislation", and he warned that there was considerable disquiet among backbench Labour MPs and the public over the plans.