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IACA accepts that a few elements of the European Commission’s proposal could bring about benefits, namely, legal clarity for secondary slot trading as well as measures that give greater transparency to the work of slot coordinators. However, we are fundamentally opposed to further and unnecessary changes to the current slot system will have a severely detrimental effect on airlines, the flights they currently offer to passengers and the destinations they fly to. IACA indeed believes that a wide revision of the current EU slot regulation is not only unnecessary but has the potential to do considerable harm to Europe’s air transport industry and tourism market.

IACA accepts that a few elements of the European Commission’s proposal could bring about benefits, namely, legal clarity for secondary slot trading as well as measures that give greater transparency to the work of slot coordinators. However, we are fundamentally opposed to further and unnecessary changes to the current slot system will have a severely detrimental effect on airlines, the flights they currently offer to passengers and the destinations they fly to. IACA indeed believes that a wide revision of the current EU slot regulation is not only unnecessary but has the potential to do considerable harm to Europe’s air transport industry and tourism market.

IACA airlines are market driven i.e. they fly to destinations at times of the year when passengers want to fly.As a result, this makes them efficient airlines — serving the travel markets with large and full aircraft, at the required frequency. As a consequence, particularly worrying for IACA airlines is the Commission’s plan to redefine the term a ‘series of slots’.

IACA also opposes the amendment of the “80-20” use-it-or-lose-it rule, as well as the introduction of slot reservation surety.

The set of changes proposed by the European Commission, if implemented, risks reducing European citizens’ mobility and the international competitiveness of Europe’s airlines. The measures would lead to the loss of social, commercial and business links to the regions of Europe as well as tourism. Furthermore, the proposals would add unnecessary cost and complexity to an already well-functioning and internationally-accepted system.

A full copy of the position paper can be viewed here.