The Airport Slot Allocation Regulations 2006. The UK is required under article 14.5 of EC Regulation 95/93 (as amended) to introduce a scheme of sanctions to control air carriers that repeatedly and intentionally misuse airport slots at the UK’s five London coordinated airports (Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and City) as well as Birmingham and Manchester airports. “SLOT” is a permission given by a coordinator for a planned operation to use the full range of airport infrastructure necessary to arrive or depart at a Level 3 airport on a specific date and time. INTRODUCTION: #1 Airport Slot Allocation eBook Airport Slot Allocation An Investigation Of New Methods For Allocating Airport Slots Uploaded By Sidney Sheldon, airport slot allocation an investigation of new methods for allocating airport slots author learncabgctsnetorg david abend 2020 10 02 06 15 50 subject airport slot allocation an.

Allocation of time slots at EU airports

SUMMARY OF:

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATION?

It seeks to ensure that where airport capacity is scarce, the available landing and take-off slots* are used efficiently and distributed in an equitable, non-discriminatory and transparent way.

KEY POINTS

• The regulation lays down the objective criteria on the basis of which an airport can be designated as coordinated* or schedules facilitated* on the grounds that its capacity is insufficient.
• EU countries can designate any airport a coordinated airport provided that:
  • a capacity analysis is carried out; and
  • there is a serious shortfall of capacity which cannot be resolved in the short term.

Coordinator/Schedules facilitator

• The EU country responsible for a coordinated or schedules-facilitated airport must ensure the appointment as airport coordinator or schedules facilitator of a qualified individual or legal entity with extensive experience of the coordination involved in planning the movements of air carrier aircraft.
• The coordinator/schedules facilitator acts in a neutral, non-discriminatory and transparent manner and should be functionally separated from any single interested party.
• The system of financing the coordinator’s activities will be such as to guarantee the coordinator’s independent status. The same coordinator may be appointed for more than one airport.

Airport capacity

• Airport slot capacity available for allocation is determined twice yearly by the competent authorities, according to the two programming ‘seasons’ (winter and summer) in place in international aviation. Calculation of an airport’s capacity is based on an objective analysis of the possibilities of accommodating the air traffic.
• Air carriers must provide any relevant information requested by the coordinator.

Coordination committee

• The EU country responsible must ensure that a coordination committee is set up at a coordinated airport.
• The coordination committee makes proposals and advises the coordinator on all questions relating to the capacity of the airport, and in particular:
  • opportunities to increase capacity;
  • coordination parameters;
  • methods of monitoring; and
  • local guidelines.
• Membership of this committee is open to:
  • air carriers using the airport;
  • the managing body of the airport;
  • air traffic control authorities;
  • general aviation representatives.

Procedure for allocation of time slots

• The general principle regarding slot allocation is that an air carrier having operated its particular slots for at least 80% during the summer/winter scheduling period is entitled to the same slots in the equivalent scheduling period of the following year (known as grandfather rights). Consequently, slots which are not sufficiently used by air carriers are reallocated (the so-called ‘use it or lose it’ rule).
• Slot pools may be set up containing newly-created time slots, unused slots and slots which have been given up by a carrier or have otherwise become available.
• The coordinator also takes into account additional rules and guidelines established by the air transport industry and local guidelines proposed by the coordination committee and approved by the EU country or any other competent body responsible for the airport.
• If a requested slot cannot be accommodated, the coordinator informs the requesting air carrier of the reasons why and indicates the nearest alternative slot.
• Slots may be exchanged or transferred between airlines in certain specified circumstances (for instance, partial or total takeover, or transfer to a different route or traffic mode). In such cases, explicit confirmation from the coordinator is always required.
• An EU country may reserve certain slots for regional services.

Enforcement

• An air carrier’s flight plan may be rejected by the competent air traffic management authorities if the air carrier intends to land or take off at a coordinated airport without having a slot allocated by the coordinator.
• If an air carrier repeatedly and intentionally operates air services at a significantly different time from the allocated slots or in a significantly different way, the coordinator may decide to withdraw from that air carrier the series of slots in question. Consequently, that air carrier may lose its grandfather rights.
• EU countries must ensure that effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions are available to deal with this type of situations.

Amendments

The original regulation has been amended 5 times

• in 2002, following the September 2001 terrorist attacks, to allow air carriers to maintain slots allocated to them for 2001 during summer 2002 and winter scheduling season 2002/2003 (Regulation (EC) No 894/2002);
• in 2003, to take account of the war launched against Iraq and the outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome to ensure that the non-utilisation of slots allocated for the 2003 season does not cause air carriers to lose their entitlement to those slots (Regulation (EC) No 1554/2003);
• in 2004, to clarify the application of the existing regime on a number of different points, including the independent status of coordinators and the functioning of slot allocation procedures (Regulation 793/2004/EC);
• in 2009, in view of the global economic and financial crisis, to ensure that the non-utilisation of slots allocated for the summer 2009 scheduling period does not cause air carriers to lose their entitlement to those slots (Regulation (EC) No 545/2009);
• in 2020, in view of the COVID-19 crisis, to ensure that the non-utilisation of slots allocated for March 2020 (and for routes to China and Hong Kong for the period of 23 January-29 February 2020) and those allocated for entire summer 2020 scheduling period do not cause air carriers to lose their entitlement to those slots (Regulation (EU) No 2020/459).

FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

It has applied since 22 February 1993.

BACKGROUND

• Following communications which it published in 2007 and 2008 on the application of the regulation, the European Commission issued a proposal to recast the regulation in 2011. The proposal is under scrutiny in the legislative procedure between the Council and the European Parliament.
• For more information, see:
  • Air slots (European Commission).

KEY TERMS

MAIN DOCUMENT

Council Regulation (EEC) No 95/93 of 18 January 1993 on common rules for the allocation of slots at Community airports (OJ L 14, 22.1.1993, pp. 1-6)

Successive amendments to Regulation (EEC) No 95/93 have been incorporated into the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

RELATED DOCUMENTS

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the application of Regulation (EEC) No 95/93 on common rules for the allocation of slots at Community airports, as amended (COM (2008) 227 final, 30.4.2008)

Communication from the Commission on the application of Regulation (EC) 793/2004 on common rules for the allocation of slots at Community airports (COM(2007) 704 final, 15.11.2007)

last update 11.05.2020

Worldwide Airport Slots

Demand for air travel is growing around the world. Many airports are already congested, with demand far exceeding the available capacity. With global traffic growth expected to double by 2034, the number of airports with slot constraints is expected to continue to increase.

Managing airport capacity is essential to ensure efficient access to airport infrastructure and resources. When the demand for slots exceeds availability, a slot coordination process is implemented.

Airports, as providers of the infrastructure, are in a unique position to promote efficiency in the use of their capacity and influence the process for the benefit of the travelling public.

As regards the upcoming Summer 2021 season and the progressive recovery of air traffic, there needs to be a reasonable balance between protecting the reinstatement of pre-COVID-19 networks and enabling the post-COVID-19 “new normal” so that services that responding to new patterns of demands can be established. ACI World, along with IATA and slot coordinators, supports the Worldwide Airport Slot Board (WASB) recommendation, as follows:

• Airlines that return a full series of slots by early February 2021 to be permitted to retain the right to operate them next summer.
• A lower operating threshold for retaining slots the following season. In normal industry conditions this is set at 80-20. The WASB recommends this be amended to 50-50 for Summer 2021, recognizing that regulators may adapt it to reflect the needs of their local market.
• A clear definition for acceptable non-use of a slot. For example, force majeure as a result of short-term border closures or quarantine measures imposed by governments.

Expert Group on Slots (EGS)

The Expert Group on Slots provides strategic and technical guidance to ACI World on the development of policy on airport slot allocation. This group identifies key issues and supports the development of ACI World policies and positions of slots as well as of the Worldwide Airport Slot Guidelines (WASG). The EGS membership reflects the global nature of slot allocation, with representatives from all ACI regions.

Slot Allocation Guidelines 2013

Worldwide Airport Slot Guidelines (WASG)

The Worldwide Airport Slot Guidelines (WASG) is published by Airports Council International (ACI), the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Worldwide Airport Coordinators Group (WWACG) to provide the global air transport community with a common set of standards for the management of airport slots at coordinated airports and of planned operations at facilitated airports.

The WASG is the result of airport operators, airlines and slot coordinators working together in the Worldwide Airport Slot Board to modernize and improve the slot guidelines, whilst recognizing national or regional legislations. Comprised of an equal number of airports, airlines and coordinators, the mandate of the WASB is to propose areas of policy development, consider ways of improving the procedures, and analyze the impact new technologies to improve slot allocation and consumer outcomes.

Slot Allocation Guidelines 2019

ACI Global Training on Airport Slot Allocation

The ACI Global Training course on airport slot allocation sets out how slots are allocated, which guidelines and regulations frame slot allocation processes at global and local levels, and what is the role that airport operators can play to promote the greatest possible efficiency in the use of their infrastructure.

Contact

For more information, please contact: slots@aci.aero