The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is asking aviation regulators worldwide to suspend the rules governing the use of airport slots due to the impact of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

IATA said at present, the rules for slot allocation mean that airlines must operate at least 80% of their allocated slots under normal circumstances and failure to comply with this means the airline loses its right to the slot the next equivalent season.

In exceptional circumstances though, regulators can relax this requirement.

IATA said the COVID-19 crisis has had a severe impact on air traffic and airlines are experiencing serious declines in demand, noting that around 43% of all passengers depart from over 200 slot coordinated airports worldwide.

Traffic slowdown worldwide

“IATA research has shown that traffic has collapsed on key Asian routes and that this is rippling throughout the air transport network globally, even between countries without major outbreaks of COVID-19. There are precedents for previous suspension of the slot use rules and we believe the circumstances again calls for a suspension to be granted,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO. 

“We are calling for regulators worldwide to help the industry plan for today’s emergency, and the future recovery of the network, by suspending the slot use rules on a temporary basis,”  he added.

IATA cited some serious cases affecting the industry: 

• A carrier experiencing a 26% reduction across their entire operation in comparison to last year;
• A hub carrier reporting bookings to Italy down 108% as bookings collapse to zero and refunds grow;
• Many carriers reporting 50% no-shows across several markets;
• Future bookings are softening and carriers are reacting with measures such as crew being given unpaid leave, freezing of pay increases, and plans for aircraft to be grounded.  

Huge challenge for airlines

“The world is facing a huge challenge to prevent the spread of COVID-19 while enabling the global economy to continue functioning. Airlines are on the front line of that challenge and it’s essential that the regulatory community work with us to ensure airlines are able to operate in the most sustainable manner, both economically and environmentally, to alleviate the worst impacts of the crisis,” de Juniac, said.

IATA further said that given these extraordinary circumstances as a result of the public health emergency, the collective view of the airline industry is that the application the 80% rule during the upcoming season inappropriate.

It noted that flexibility is vital for airlines to adjust their schedules according to extraordinary demand developments.   

“Regulators have already been waiving the slot rules on a rolling basis during the COVID-19 crisis primarily for operations to China and Hong Kong SAR. However, given the recent further outbreaks, this is no longer contained to the Asia markets. Without certainty that these waivers will continue for the summer season (or winter season in the Southern hemisphere), airlines are unable to plan ahead sufficiently to ensure efficient rostering of crew or deployment of aircraft,” IATA said.

Suspending the requirement for the entire season (to October 2020), it added, will mean that airlines can respond to market conditions with appropriate capacity levels, avoiding any need to run empty services in order to maintain slots. Aircraft can be reallocated to other routes or parked, the crew can have certainty on their schedules.

In the statement, IATA said its request is for the "immediate" suspension of slot rules for the 2020 season.