Airlines International Representation in Europe considers that European slot regulation should be aligned and consistent with the Worldwide Airport Slot Guidelines (WASG). The WASG organizes slot management to ensure all global markets remain equally competitive.
Thus, transparency in slot allocation is essential, especially regarding the trading of slots. Therefore, coordinators must be consistent in their practices, and regulations should allow flexibility during crises and extraordinary situations, enabling coordinators to act swiftly.
- We find that the utilization threshold, known as the 80/20 rule, for each slot series should remain unchanged.
- Environmental aspects should be addressed in appropriate regulations other than those concerning slots.
- Concerning slots trading, we advocate that primary trading (e.g., slot bidding) is a much less favourable solution compared to secondary trading.
- There is no need to introduce a new level for super congested airports into the regulation.
- The introduction of a slot reservation fee as part of airport charges, intended to incentivize the early return of slots, is not a suitable approach. Instead, emphasis should be placed on strengthening the role of slot coordination committees at airports. In that sense, there is currently a lack of standardized procedures for reducing capacity at any airport when required, giving rise to complex situations such as the slot capacity reduction at Schipol airport.
AIRE supports aligning EU slot regulation with the Worldwide Airport Slot Guidelines (WASG) to enhance global market competitiveness and transparency in slot allocation. We also advocate for maintaining the current 80/20 utilization rule, addressing environmental concerns separately from slot regulations, and strengthening slot coordination committees.
