UK airlines will be forced to ‘use or lose’ airport slots

UK airlines will be forced to “use or lose” their valuable take-off and landing slots this summer after the government announced “the return to business as usual” for aviation.

Airlines such as British Airways and Virgin Atlantic will have to hand back their slots if they are not used 80 per cent of the time over the summer season, which begins on March 26, the UK’s Department for Transport said on Tuesday.

The government waived its “80/20” slot rules during the pandemic as border restrictions led to a collapse in the number of people flying.

This allowed airlines to park their fleets and only run slimmed-down schedules while hanging on to spots at capacity-constrained airports.

The waiver was also designed to stop airlines from running virtually empty with polluting “ghost flights” to maintain their slots, which can be worth millions of pounds. The rules were gradually restored as border restrictions eased, and over the winter airlines have had to use their slots 70 per cent of the time.

The decision to return to the pre-pandemic rules marked “a vote of confidence in the aviation industry” as demand for travel rebounds, the government said. It added that passenger numbers at UK airports had returned to 85 per cent of normal levels by October.

“We’re able to start a new, more optimistic, conversation about the future,” transport secretary Mark Harper said.

The decision to waive the rules proved controversial, and some airlines and airports have long urged the government to bring competition for places at airports back more quickly.

Rapidly expanding low-cost airlines such as Wizz Air complained that their ambitions to grow their UK businesses were being blocked by the waivers, as rival airlines were allowed to sit on their unused slots.

Heathrow airport, the UK’s busiest, said it supported the changes to the slot rules.

“The proposal ensures a level of certainty and recovery for the sector as we plan for summer 2023, but also provides some flexibility which is needed for markets where challenges persist from Covid-19,” the airport said.

The rules announced on Tuesday included a new condition that will allow airlines to hand back up to 5 per cent of their slots before the start of the season.

The government said this was to “help plan realistic schedules” and avoid the last-minute cancellations and disruption seen last summer, when the industry tried to operate more flights than it had the staff to deliver.

It also said the rules included additional flexibility to allow airlines not to use slots in some situations, such as new Covid travel rules.

“Airlines recognise that as passenger demand returns and we approach another busy summer then the slot rules must follow suit.” said industry body AirlinesUK.

“Global recovery is still bumpy though and we’re not yet fully back to normal, so we welcome the additional flexibility around the justified non-use of slots so airlines aren’t punished by travel restrictions where and when these may be imposed.”