The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has branded a European Commission decision to set the winter slot use threshold at 50 per cent as “out of touch with reality”.
The trade body argued that the commission had ignored the advice and evidence presented by member states and the airline industry, which had made the case for a much lower threshold.
The announcement means that, from November to April, airlines operating at slot-regulated airports must use at least half of every single series of slots they hold.
There is no alleviation to hand back slots at the start of the season allowing airlines to match their schedule to realistic demand or enable other carriers to operate, IATA argued.
Additionally, the rule on ‘force majeure’, by which the slot rule is suspended if exceptional circumstances related to the Covid-19 pandemic are in effect, has been switched off for intra-EU operations.
The result of these changes will be to restrict the ability of airlines to operate with the agility needed to respond to unpredictable and rapidly changing demand, leading to environmentally wasteful and unnecessary flights.
“Once again the commission has shown they are out of touch with reality.
“The airline industry is still facing the worst crisis in its history.
“The commission had an open goal to use the slots regulation to promote a sustainable recovery for airlines, but they missed.
“Instead, they have shown contempt for the industry, and for the many member states that repeatedly urged a more flexible solution, by stubbornly pursuing a policy that is contrary to all the evidence presented to them,” said Willie Walsh, IATA director general.
The commission argue that the intra-EU traffic recovery this summer justified a 50 per cent use threshold with no alleviation.