Instruments related to COVID-19
Draft Airports Slot Allocation (Alleviation of Usage Requirements) Regulations 2023
12.An airport “slot” is a permission to use all necessary airport infrastructure at a specified date and time for take-off or landing. Allocation of airport slots at congested airports is governed by Council Regulation (EEC) No 95/93 which, among other things, provides that if an airline has used at least 80% of its slots in the preceding winter or summer season, it is entitled to the same series of slots in the following equivalent season (the “80:20 rule”).The Government have been managing these rules more flexibly during the pandemic, but this instrument returns the airport slot usage to the 80:20 rule for the summer 2023 season (26 March to 28 October 2023). Due to the pandemic’s continuing effects on air travel however, it maintains some mitigations for non-use of slots, in particular for routes where government-imposed measures related to COVID-19 severely reduce the demand for passenger travel. The previous instrument also allowed a waiver that allows up to 10% of slots to be treated as operated if they are handed back before the start of the season. This instrument maintains the waiver but reduces it to 5%.