Given the further outbreaks of Coronavirus (COVID-19) within Europe, ERA issued a call supporting IATS’s view last week that the requirement on airport slots should be suspended immediately.
“Regulators have already been waiving the slot rules on a rolling basis during the crisis primarily for operations to China and Hong Kong; nevertheless, the impact of COVID-19 has now spread beyond the Asian market and therefore should be recognised as an extraordinary circumstance,” the ERA said in a statement.
‘Suspending the requirement for the entire season will alleviate the burden on airlines to operate 80 per cent of their allocated slots, as currently, should this quota not be met, the airline loses its right to the slot the next equivalent season. Airlines should feel able to respond to market conditions with appropriate capacity levels, avoiding any need to run empty services in order to maintain slots – a solution that would have both an unnecessary financial burden upon the airline and an unnecessary environmental impact,” it added.
The ERA said that it believed the current situation should fall under extraordinary circumstances as per Article 5(c) of Regulation 261/2004; therefore, any related cancellations should be exempt from the obligation to compensate passengers. We urge DG MOVE to take this into consideration.
ERA Director General, Montserrat Barriga, said: “Drastic times call for drastic measures. The COVID-19 crisis has had a significant impact on the aviation industry, and this must be recognised by regulators in temporarily lowering the burden for airlines. We are without question dealing with exceptional circumstances and flexibility is essential in order for airlines to react to developments responsibly.”