HIAL created their own pension scheme a few years ago.
The CAA section of the pension fund is interesting because at some point in the future it is likely to face the same issues. The main cause of all this pension problem is pensioners living longer and it is unlikely that their pensioners will have a significantly different profile. The CAA board is not subject to the same restrictions on trading at a loss as the NATS board so they could possibly continue to fund their part of the scheme as costs rise but either the government will have to make up the shortfall or the CAA's charges will have to rise. Given that by then all the airlines and NATS will have had to act on their own schemes I can't see any of them taking kindly to propping up the CAA scheme especially as it is the CAA telling NATS it can't recover its pension costs using increased charges.
What happens if NATS becomes insolvent will be covered in the Trust Deed. It will almost certainly make provision for closure and winding up of the scheme if the company stops paying and the trustees are unable to secure alternative contributions. Mr Perry won't be able to tell you what political solution will be found to avoid that happening because nobody will know until the time comes but some solution will be found.