Ref. Ares(2020)1470087 - 10/03/2
Ref. Ares(2022)4274243 - 09/06/2022 020
From
Tel
E-Mail
Web site: www.gov.uk/dft
Dear
COVID-19 & AVIATION: ALLEVIATION FROM 80:20 SLOT RULES
The impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak are increasingly being felt across
Europe. This includes significant impacts on the aviation sector, with many
airlines reporting considerable deterioration in passenger demand,
consequently exacerbating pressures on commercial operations.
ng few
passengers on board. An outcome which is both problematic for the airlines
and needlessly damaging to our environment.
There are eight slot coordinated airports in the United Kingdom, several of
which are exceptionally congested, including Heathrow
two-runway airport.
-it-or-lose-
rule under Regulation 95/93 is compounding the risk of airlines flying empty or
near-empty aircraft primarily to avoid losing their historic rights. Such behaviour
.
I know that the European Commission has already recommended, and the
United Kingdom coordinator has granted, alleviation from the 80:20 rule for
flights to and from mainland China and Hong Kong, a step which has been
welcomed across industry. Given the international nature of COVID-19 I
believe that this alleviation should now be widened.
I am writing to urge the Commission to act by introducing practical and
proportionate measures which would allow flexibility and adaptability to
respond as the picture develops. These could include
alleviations and flexibility with the 80% usage threshold, implemented on a
market-by-market basis or more broadly. I would welcome an approach which
supported coordinators to respond proactively and proportionately by allowing
them to drive forward solutions which fairly balance the interests of the
environment and the industry as a whole.