Routes and Airports Channel

European airports decry slot protection ruling

By Sandra Arnoult
ATW's Airports Today, June, 2009, p.2

A ruling from the European Parliament that allows airlines to hang onto their unused airport slots could affect passenger service adversely with last-minute flight cancellations and may serve as an artificial barrier to market access for LCCs, warned Airports Council International Europe.

The new rule, which was proposed by the European Commission at the request of the Assn. of European Airlines and adopted in May, suspends the "use-it-or-lose-it" rule for airport slots through the summer schedule so that carriers can reduce flight schedules in response to the economic downturn without fear of losing slots. "Having to give up a slot permanently is an extreme option which the airlines will avoid if they can, but flying nearly empty to protect slots is neither economically nor environmentally responsible," AEA Secretary General Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus said.

But airports, which have been impacted heavily by the continuing economic crisis, say they will be hard hit as a result of the ruling. "Unlike airlines, which have the flexibility to ground aircraft or cut routes and capacity at short notice to save costs in times of crisis, airports are bound by significant long-term financial commitments linked to the development of their infrastructure," said DG ACI-Europe Olivier Jankovec. "The economic cycles of airports and airlines are different and this needs to be recognized by regulators." EasyJet and Ryanair also opposed the proposal and had urged the EP to reject it.

"Connectivity at regional airports will suffer," an ACI-Europe representative told ATW's Airports Today. "The slots that are held onto are the less profitable regional ones. That doesn't help the economics of regional activity. It's not an efficient use of airport capacity. It's time to optimize all of our resources."

In acceding to the EC's proposal, the EP made it plain that before the exemption can be extended to the winter schedule it will have to undergo a more rigorous process, including an impact assessment on the effects on competition and consumers.

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