The European Commission (EC) has issued long-awaited slot-allocation reforms that would allow slot coordinators to exclude aircraft “below a certain size” from airports and give lower priority to scheduled air routes on which “satisfactory service by other means of transport [such as road and rail] exists.” The proposals, published June 28, have provoked furious opposition from the European Regions Airline Association (ERA), which has accused the EC of pushing through contentious market access-related changes in a package of proposals that was supposed to cover strictly technical procedures for slot coordinators.
While forwarding the initial proposals for consideration by the European Union’s Council of Ministers and Parliament, EC vice president for transport and energy Loyola de Palacio also instructed her staff to begin yet another wave of study and consultation aimed at introducing a “market mechanism” for the allocation of slots (most likely a system of auctions or leases). No timetable has been set for this more radical second phase of reforms, which are expected to favor major airlines at the expense of regional airlines and other smaller operators.
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