EC to ease ‘use it or lose it’ slot rule

The E uropean Commission has proposed an amendment to ease regulations on airline slot operation rules in the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak, according to a statement released today. The so-called “use it or lose it” rule — mandating airlines operate at least 80% of flights within their scheduled slots or lose historical rights to those slots — falls under European Commission regulation. The International Air Transport Association ( IATA ) and the European Airport Coordinators Association ( EUACA ), the EU’s slot coordinator, had earlier this month expressed the need for carrier flexibility in operations as the spread of COVID-19 has led to the most substantial impact on aviation since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. See also: EU slot coordinator: No 80/20 leniency without regulatory change Therefore, the commission has now proposed an amendment to legislation allowing for temporary mitigation of the rule for the four-month period between March and June, due to the flight cancellations expected to result in slot usage below the 80% threshold. Additionally, given that the severe impact of the pandemic was initially in mainland China and Hong Kong, the EC has further proposed to protect slot operation rules for air services to and from those markets dating back to Jan. 23. After 3.3% average annual growth in passenger numbers in Europe between 2009-2019, Eurocontrol , an international air traffic management organization, has identified a 10% drop in the number of flights in the first two weeks of March compared to the same period in 2019. Given the decreasing demand caused by the crisis, most European air carriers are grounding aircraft, which suggests the fall in the number of flights will be sustained in a negative year-on-year trend that extends into the summer season. According to IATA, air carriers are experiencing a 40%-60% YoY drop in forward bookings for the period March to June for non-Italian routes, with a somewhat larger impact on short-haul than long-haul routes. Bookings on Italian routes have dropped by more than 50% in early March, with load factors as low as 40%. On the basis of the information currently available from Eurocontrol, air carriers and airports, the EC has determined it is reasonable to assume that the current situation’s exceptional fall in demand will last at least for the months of March through June. According to the EC, the proposed amendment will come in the form of a rule in which coordinators will consider slots allocated for the reference periods in question as having been operated. It will be aimed at mitigating the effects of the current crisis and providing legal certainty to the air carriers for the relevant parts of the scheduling periods. Any slots freed by air carriers as a result can be reallocated by coordinators according to needs, on an ad hoc basis and will not affect the position of carriers’ slot rights. The commission highlighted the “urgent” nature of the situation and said it will prepare a summary report to present by April 15. Following approval by the European Parliament and the Council, the EC said it will adopt the amendment “as soon as possible.”

EC to ease ‘use it or lose it’ slot rule

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