The European Commission opened early September a consultation to evaluate the current operation of the Regulation concerning common rules for the allocation of slots at Community airports and to collect information for an impact assessment. All interested parties may submit their contributions by 29 October, welcoming concerned citizens, organisations and public authorities points of view.

The capacity of many of Europe’s key airports is restricted. As a result of increasing demand for air transport and financial and environmental constraints on expanding airport capacity, the shortage of capacity at key European airports is likely to become more severe in the future. The objective of the consultation on the impact assessment for a possible revision of Council Regulation (EEC) 95/93 on common rules for the allocation of slots at Community airports is to evaluate the current operation of the Regulation, and to collect information to be used in an impact assessment of possible changes to it.

Regulation (EEC) 95/93 established an administrative mechanism for the allocation of capacity at congested airports. The Regulation was aimed at ensuring non-discriminatory and transparent procedures for allocation of slots, and was partly based on the established framework of scheduling procedures that had been developed by the air transport industry.

Member States designate congested airports and slot co-ordinators at each of these airports who seek to balance the demand for slots with the supply. Where there is excess demand, the co-ordinators allocate slots on the basis of administrative criteria including, in particular, grandfather rights; where slots become available, in order to promote competition, preference is given to new entrants.

The Regulation was modified by Regulation (EC) 793/2004, which made a number of technical improvements, for example, to the processes for monitoring the correct use of slots and to the independent operation of the co-ordinator; it also introduced sanctions for abuse of slots. Commission already issued in 2008 a Communication in order to clarify some aspects for stakeholders.

In addition, the ‘use-it-or-lose-it’ rule, which requires that a series of slots must be used 80% of the time to retain grandfather rights, has been suspended on several occasions, most recently due to the international economic crisis and subsequent downturn in traffic volumes.

The Commission aims now at assessing the application of the current legislation on slots allocation and the need to improve it. It has decided to carry out an impact assessment developing different scenarios.

On the basis of the outcome of this impact assessment, whose work started in July 2010, the Commission will evaluate whether the Slot Regulation needs to be amended, and if so to what extent. The review of the Slot Regulation is enshrined in the Annex to the Commission Work Programme 2010 (Initiatives for 2010 and beyond) and it will form an integral part of the Airport package. This Airport Package will take stock of the progress in the implementation of the capacity action plan and address the need to review the Slot Regulation and the Ground handling Directive.