An airport control tower (at Manchester, UK)
Photo by: Bloomberg
The International Air Transport Association (Iata), which is the representative body for the global airline industry, has called on all aviation regulatory agencies to immediately suspend the rules controlling the use of “slots” at airports, and to maintain this suspension for the 2020 season. This is because of the effects of the rapidly-spreading Covid-19 (novel coronavirus) disease.
At airports which handle a lot of traffic, airlines are allocated specific times their aircraft may land and take-off. These time periods are called slots. Some 43% of all airline passengers take-off from more than 200 slot-coordinated airports around the world.
Normally, the regulations require that an airline use a minimum of 80% of its slots. If it does not do so it loses its right to that slot for the next equivalent season. But, in exceptional circumstances, the regulators can waive this requirement.
And Iata is arguing that the industry now finds itself in exceptional circumstances. Already, because of Covid-19, regulators have been suspending slot rules in Asian markets, mainly regarding flights to and from China and Hong Kong. But now the effects are being felt worldwide.
“Iata research has shown that traffic has collapsed on key Asian routes and that this is rippling throughout the air transport network globally, even between countries without major outbreaks of Covid-19,” reported Iata director-general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac. “There are precedents for previous suspension of the slot rules and we believe the circumstances again call for a suspension to be granted.”
Waiving the slot rules for the whole of the 2020 northern summer/southern winter season (that is, until October) would allow airlines to plan ahead and adjust to market conditions. They would be able to adapt their capacity and not have to operate empty flights to retain their slots.
“We are calling for regulators worldwide to help the industry plan for today’s emergency, and the future recovery of the network, by suspending the slot use rules on a temporary basis,” he urged. “The world is facing a huge challenge to prevent the spread of Covid-19 while enabling the global economy to continue functioning. Airlines are on the front line of that challenge and it’s essential that the regulatory community work with us to ensure airlines are able to operate in the most sustainable manner, both economically and environmentally, to alleviate the worst impacts of the crisis.”