Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), the world’s busiest cargo airport, will continue to allow airlines flying to and from the financial hub to keep their airport slots until October even if they decide to cut capacity, for now, as the industry continues to face a slowdown in demand.

The Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department (CAD) said it is extending the waiver it earlier implemented governing the use of airport slots through the Summer 2021 season due to the ongoing restrictions related to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

The Hong Kong Schedule Coordination Office (HKSCO), under the CAD, performs the schedule coordinator function for the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) and the city’s aviation regulator said the HKSCO adopts and maintains a “neutral, transparent and non-discriminatory slot allocation mechanism in accordance with the Worldwide Airport Slot Guidelines (WASG) and applicable local guidelines.”

This is to ensure the efficient utilization of existing airport infrastructure and meeting the demand as far as possible, it added.

Use-it-or-lose-it rule still suspended

“The HKSCO has been closely monitoring the impact of Covidf-19 on airline operators' slot usage at the HKIA,” CAD said in a statement to Asia Cargo News.

“In consideration of the latest Covid-19 situation and to facilitate planning by airline operators, the HKSCO has informed airline operators at HKIA that the "use-it-or-lose-it rule" will continue to be suspended for operations at the HKIA for the Summer 2021 IATA season,” the Hong Kong aviation regulator added.

The IATA Summer season is from March 28, 2021, to October 30, 2021.

The World Airlines and Suppliers Guide (WASG)’s “use-it-or-lose-it rule” stipulates that historic precedence is only granted for a series of slots if the airline operator can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the coordinator that the series was operated at least 80% of the time during the period allocated in the previous equivalent airline season.

The CAD has already earlier extended the suspension of slot-use rules until March 27, 2021, for the Winter 2020 season as demand remained weak that time.

It also relaxed its slot use rule for both the Winter 2019 season (October 27, 2019, to March 28, 2020) and extended it again for the whole Summer 2020 season (March 29, 2020, to October 26, 2020) as weak demand continued to grip the airport.

Although airlines have started adding capacity in select routes since late last year, demand continues to be impacted by travel restrictions still in place across many countries and territories around the globe as Covid-19 and its related new strains continue to temper demand despite the initial rollout start of coronavirus vaccines.

US also extends slot-use rule waiver

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is also extending its slot-use rule waiver through October 2021 after it implemented a similar waiver during the Winter 2020 season.

“The FAA has determined to extend through October 30, 2021, the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19)-related limited waiver of the minimum slot usage requirement at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA), and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) that the FAA already has made available through March 27, 2021,” the FAA said in a statement.

At JFK and LGA, traditionally, slots must be used 80% of the time, or else the airline that holds the slot will lose it. At DCA, any slot not used at least 80% of the time over a two-month period will be recalled by the FAA.

In addition, the FAA is also extending through the same schedule its Covid-19-related policy for prioritizing flights canceled at designated IATA Level 2 airports in the US, including Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO), for purposes of establishing a carrier’s operational baseline in the next corresponding season, it added.

EU adjusts slot-use rule waiver

Meanwhile, the EU under its new guidelines has granted airlines the possibility to return 50% of their slot series, but expects them to use at least 50% of the remaining slots.

In general, EU airport slot requirements also states that airlines must use at least 80% of their take-off and landing slots in order to keep them the following year.

“The new proposed regulation provides that, in order to keep their grandfathering rights, air carriers should operate the slots allocated to them for at least 50% of the time, which amounts in practice to a complete waiver of 50% of the slots series that an airline holds, with an obligation to use the rest at a minimum of 50%. The same rule applies for newly allocated slots,” the EU General Secretariat said.

By Charlee C. Delavin

Asia Cargo News | Hong Kong