The Government has extended a free insurance scheme for the country's beleaguered airline companies by two months.

The announcement was made just 24 hours after Crawley MP Laura Moffatt made a plea to Prime Minister Tony Blair for help to ease the "pain" of local airport workers.

The insurance measures were originally introduced two months ago in the wake of the September 11 atrocities.

They were aimed at safeguarding UK jobs, including hundreds under threat at Gatwick Airport.

It was feared airlines would be forced to ground planes after a massive hike in insurance premiums, leading to redundancies.

But the Government stepped into the breach after insurers gave the airlines seven days' notice that they were cancelling war liability cover.

It extended the scheme by 30 days last month and has now extended it by a further two months.

Andrew Smith, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said: "The Government's objective remains to withdraw from the market as soon as practicable.

"However there is still a gap in the commercial insurance market which the Government is filling to ensure the aviation industry has the cover it needs."