European Commission Seeks Return to Normal 80:20 Slot Rule

Brussels argues that the recovery of air traffic to pre-Covid levels no longer warrants the relief from the usual 80:20 slot use requirement.

Lufthansa jets line up at Frankfurt International Airport, one of the largest in Europe. (Flickr: Creative Commons (BY) by kitmasterbloke)

By Cathy Buyck • Contributor - Europe

August 31, 2022

The European Commission has proposed a return to the historic 80:20 “use-it-or-lose-it” rule for takeoff and landing slots, a move criticized by legacy and regional airlines as “premature” though welcomed by Europe’s airports. Speaking to members of the European Parliament’s Transport Committee on Wednesday, Filip Cornelis, director for aviation at the European Commission’s director-general for Mobility and Transport (DG Move), noted that the “good recovery” of air traffic and positive outlook warrants ending the temporary relief from the slot utilization rules in the EU and a reversion to the standard 80 percent use rate as of the winter 2022/2023 scheduling period. The EU waived the use-it-or-lose-it rule—which requires airlines to operate slots at least 80 percent of the time to retain the right to use them in the upcoming equivalent season—for the summer 2020 and winter 2020/21 seasons. As traffic gradually recovered, Brussels raised the slot-use rate to 50 percent for the winter 2021/2022 scheduling season and to 64 percent for the current summer 2022 season.

The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background. The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background. The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background. The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background. The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background.