• Eu Slot Allocation Regulation Definition
• Eu Slot Allocation Regulations
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• Eu Slot Allocation Regulation Rules

ACI Europe has published its ‘Position Paper on Airport Slot Allocation’, a document detailing its recommendations for a vital and overdue overhaul of the EU Airport Slot Regulation, with the aim of changing the way airport slot allocation is governed. Since March the EU has taken measures, including legislative amendments to the current EU Slot Regulation, to address the obligation on air carriers to use 80% of their allocated Read more. The operation of the IATA slot allocation conferences for airports located in the EU, and by extension in the EEA, CH and ECAA, is somewhat modified by the applicability of the EU Slot Allocation Regulation 95/93 (as amended). Longer term rules for slot allocation are proposed in a draft Council regulation (see P(90)100). This will also cover airports where national authorities are responsible for slot allocation. The block exemption regulation will be kept consistent with this new code and modified as necessary when the Council has reached agreement. Under Regulation (EEC) No 95/93, the slot coordinator is the sole person responsible for the allocation of slots and is obliged to act in accordance with the Regulation Article 4(5) thereof. In respect of their task of slot allocations, coordinators are independent and not subject to instructions from any party.

The amending EU Slot Regulation has now been officially published in the Official Journal, as Regulation 2020/459 on common rules for the allocation of slots at Community airport (see our post on the urgent written procedure followed and the Council’s final approval yesterday).

As mentioned in earlier posts, the aim of this measure is to address the sharp drop in air traffic as a result of a significant fall in demand and direct measures taken by the Member States as well as third countries to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, and to mitigate the obligation of air carriers under Article 8(2) of Council Regulation 95/93, read in conjunction with Article 10(2) thereof, where the failure by an air carrier to operate at least 80% of a series of slots which it has been allocated at a coordinated airport threatens the historical precedence for those slots.

The amending Regulation takes into account forward bookings and epidemiological forecasts finding that it is reasonable to expect that there will be a significant number of cancellations attributable to the pandemic in the period between 1 March 2020 and at least 24 October 2020. Therefore, it provides in Article 1 that ‘for the purposes of Articles 8(2) and 10(2), coordinators shall consider slots allocated for the period from 1 March 2020 until 24 October 2020 as having been operated by the air carrier to which they were initially allocated’. That situation is expected to be under the continuous review of the Commission, which is also empowered by virtue of this measure to take further urgent Delegated Acts to address further related issues.

The amending Regulation will enter into force tomorrow, 1 April 2020.

Access the Regulation in the Official Journal here.

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

Eu Slot Allocation Regulation Definition

• 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.

Eu Slot Allocation Regulations

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)

Eu Slot Allocation Regulation Calculator

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)

Eu Slot Allocation Regulation Rules

last update 11.05.2020