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Use flight slots or lose them, airlines are told

By JULIAN SHEA in London | China Daily Global | Updated: 2022-01-25 09:33

FILE PHOTO: Passengers are seen in an almost empty check-in area at Gatwick Airport, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Crawley, Britain, November 27, 2020. [Photo/Agencies]

Airlines flying from some of the United Kingdom's busiest airports have been given a "use them or lose them" ultimatum about take-off and landing slots for the summer.

Currently, only around 50 percent are being used, but Transport Minister Grant Shapps says that from the end of March, they must use at least 70 percent of flight slots to in his words "balance the needs" of the aviation industry.

This figure is still below the usual requirement of 80 percent to retain a slot, which are highly prized by operators and can be bought and sold for millions of pounds.

The European Union set a 50 percent usage threshold over the winter, the same as the UK, but has only raised the bar to 64 percent for the summer.

Airport operators have welcomed the news, with Stewart Wingate, chief executive of London's Gatwick Airport, calling it a "sensible decision to return discipline to the UK's airport slot regulations for the summer season", which would mean "consumers will once again benefit from a competitive aviation market", adding that there was a "significant pent-up demand for travel".

Aviation Minister Robert Courts said: "Since the onset of the pandemic we have provided relief from the slots usage rule to provide financial stability to the sector and prevent environmentally-damaging ghost flights.

"As demand for flights returns, it's right we gradually move back to the previous rules while making sure we continue to provide the sector with the support it needs."

Since the start of the year, travel companies have reported increased customer interest in booking overseas trips, because of the prospect of restrictions and testing regime being eased.

But there has also been criticism of the prospect of restarting largely empty so-called ghost flights when passenger demand is not at the right level.

"It is inconceivable that international demand will average 70 percent this summer," said Willie Walsh, director-general of airline industry body the International Air Traffic Association, adding that introducing the highest use threshold in the world "makes a mockery of (government) claims to be supporting the recovery of the airline industry".

"Unfortunately this is yet another example of administrative ineptitude from an out-of-touch government.

"The government is therefore condemning airlines to operate thousands of flights at low capacity which is environmentally stupid."

Luis Gallego, chief executive of British Airways owner International Airlines Group, echoed his sentiments, warning of the environmental damage that would be done.

"In the current circumstances, this decision would force airlines to operate flights with low load factors which will generate unnecessary CO2 emissions," he said.

However, Marion Geoffroy, managing director of the UK branch of Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air, said the changes were "a step in the right direction".

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