Government supports aviation industry as demand for air travel rises

The government has laid regulations before Parliament extending the airport slots rules alleviation for the upcoming summer season, supporting the international aviation industry.

Airport slots are used to manage capacity at the busiest airports. A slot gives permission to use the full range of airport infrastructure (runway, terminal and gates, for instance) necessary to operate an air service at an airport on a specific date and time.

Airlines will need to use their slots 70 per cent of the time in order to keep them, but will also benefit from added flexibility over when they are justified not to use them, for example, where a market is substantively closed.

Following a period of consultation with the sector, the extension of alleviation from slots rules will further support its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic as air travel returns to normal levels.

This aims to balance the need for continued support for the aviation sector’s finances, providing airlines with enough flexibility to adapt to changing restrictions and concerns around new variants, while ensuring slots get used where demand allows.

As part of this, the list of situations where airlines can claim justification for not using their slots is being widened further.

As in the current winter season, this will cover situations where COVID-19 related restrictions at either end of a route result in severe reduction in demand. However, for the summer 2022 season, it will no longer be necessary for the airline to show the measures were unforeseeable.

In such circumstances, the regulations allow the airline to keep their historic rights to the slots even if passenger demand does not justify operating the flight.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps MP said: “Leaving the EU has allowed us to take back control of our airport slots rules, giving us greater flexibility to balance the needs of our magnificent aviation industry as it faces up to the pandemic.

“Today’s extension marks a step back towards normal rules, helping the sector to recover and grow as travel returns while protecting it against any future uncertainty.”