Government 'did not cave in to airline pressure'

Date: 22/4/2010

The government has denied that it reopened British airspace earlier this week because of pressure from the airline industry.

Transport secretary Lord Adonis insisted that safety considerations rather than airline industry pressure forced the government to reopen the British skies after six days of restrictions caused by the eruption of the Icelandic Volcano.

The shutdown of British airspace is believed to have cost the sector close to £130 million every day.

Speaking to GMTV, Lord Adonis explained that the final decision was made in a meeting of European transport ministers and approved by the Civil Aviation Authority.

He said: "At every stage decisions were based on the decisions of safety regulator. They have not been based on pressure from airlines, and that is what the public would expect."

The Foreign Office has estimated that more than 100,000 British travellers remain stranded abroad – with normal services not expected to resume for several days.