1993R0095 — EN — 05.09.2003 — 002.001 — 1
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►B COUNCILREGULATION(EEC)No95/93
of18January1993
oncommonrulesfortheallocationofslotsatCommunityairports
(OJ L 14, 22.1.1993, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Regulation (EC) No 894/2002 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 27 May 2002L 142 3 31.5.2002
►M2Regulation (EC) No 1554/2003 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 22 July 2003L 221 1 4.9.2003
▼B
COUNCILREGULATION(EEC)No95/93
of18January1993
oncommonrulesfortheallocation ofslotsatCommunityairports
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community, and in particular Article 84 (2) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (3),
Whereas there is a growing imbalance between the expansion of the air
transport system in Europe and the availability of adequate airportinfrastructure to meet that demand; whereas there is, as a result, anincreasing number of congested airports in the Community;
Whereas the allocation of slots at congested airports should be based
on neutral, transparent and non-discriminatory rules;
Whereas the requirement of neutrality is best guaranteed when the
decision to coordinate an airport is taken by the Member State respon-sible for that airport on the basis of objective criteria;
Whereas under certain conditions, in order to facilitate operations, it is
desirable that a Member State should be able to designate an airport ascoordinated provided that principles of transparency, neutrality andnon-discrimination are met;
Whereas the Member State responsible for the coordinated airport
should ensure the appointment of a coordinator whose neutrality shouldbe unquestioned;
Whereas transparency of information is an essential element for
ensuring an objective procedure for slot allocation;
Whereas the principles governing the existing system of slot allocation
could be the basis of this Regulation provided that this system evolves
in harmony with the evolution of new transport developments in the
Community;
Whereas it is Community policy to facilitate competition and to encou-
rage entrance into the market, as provided for in Council Regulation
(EEC) No 2408/92 of 23 July 1992 on access for Community air
carriers to intra-Community air routes (
4), and whereas these objectives
require strong support for carriers who intend to start operations onintra-Community routes;
Whereas the existing system makes provision for grandfather rights;
Whereas there should also be provisions to allow new entrants into the
Community market;
Whereas it is necessary to make special provisions, under limited
circumstances, for the maintenance of adequate domestic air servicesto regions of the Member State concerned;
Whereas it is also necessary to avoid situations where, owing to a lack
of available slots, the benefits of liberalization are unevenly spread andcompetition is distorted;
Whereas it is desirable to make the best use of the existing slots in
order to meet the objectives set out above;1993R0095 — EN — 05.09.2003 — 002.001 — 2
(1) OJ No C 43, 19. 2. 1991, p. 3.
(2) OJ No C 13, 20. 1. 1992, p. 446.
(3) OJ No C 339, 31. 12. 1991, p. 41.
(4) OJ No L 240, 24. 8. 1992, p. 8.
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Whereas it is desirable that third countries offer Community carriers
equivalent treatment;
Whereas the application of the provisions of this Regulation shall be
without prejudice to the competition rules on the Treaty, in particular
Articles 85 and 86;
Whereas arrangements for greater cooperation over the use of Gibraltar
airport were agreed in London on 2 December 1987 by the Kingdom of
Spain and the United Kingdom in a joint declaration by the Ministersof Foreign Affairs of the two countries, and such arrangements haveyet to come into operation;
Whereas this Regulation should be reviewed after a fixed period of
operation to assess its functioning,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Scope
1. This Regulation shall apply to the allocation of slots at Commu-
nity airports.
2. The application of this Regulation to the airport of Gibraltar is
understood to be without prejudice to the respective legal positions ofthe Kingdom of Spain and the United Kingdom with regard to thedispute over sovereignty over the territory in which the airport is situ-ated.
3. Application of the provisions of this Regulation to Gibraltar
airport shall be suspended until the arrangements in the joint declara-tions made by the Foreign Ministers of the Kingdom of Spain and the
United Kingdom on 2 December 1987 have come into operation. The
Governments of Spain and the United Kingdom will so inform theCouncil of that date.
Article 2
Definitions
For the purpose of this Regulation:
(a) ‘slot’ shall mean the scheduled time of arrival or departure avail-
able or allocated to an aircraft movement on a specific date at an
airport coordinated under the terms of this Regulation;
(b) ‘new entrant’ shall mean:
(i) an air carrier requesting slots at an airport on any day and
holding or having been allocated fewer than four slots at that
airport on that day, or,
(ii) an air carrier requesting slots for a non-stop service between
two Community airport where at most two other air carriers
operate a direct service between these airports or airports
systems on that day and holding or having been allocated fewerthan four slots at that airport on that day for that non-stopservice.
An air carrier holding more than 3 % of the total slots available on
the day in question at a particular airport, or more than 2 % of the
total slots avilable on the day in question in an airport system of
which that airport forms part, shall not be considered as a newentrant at that airport;
c) ‘direct air service’ shall mean a service between two airports
including stopovers with the same aircraft and same flight number;1993R0095 — EN — 05.09.2003 — 002.001 — 3
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(d) ‘scheduling period’ shall mean either the summer or winter season
as used in the schedules of air carriers;
(e) ‘Community air carrier’ shall mean an air carrier with a valid oper-
ating licence issued by a Member State in accordance withCouncilRegulation (EEC) No 2407/92 of 23 July 1992 on licensing of aircarriers (
1);
(f) ‘coordinated airport’ shall mean an airport where a coordinator has
been appointed to facilitate the operations of air carriers operatingor intending to operate at that airport;
(g) ‘fully coordinated airport’ shall mean a coordinated airport where,
in order to land or take off, during the periods for which it is fullycoordinated, it is necessary for an air carrier to have a slot allo-cated by a coordinator;
(h) ‘airport system’ shall mean two or more airports grouped together
and serving the same city or conurbation, as indicated in Annex II
to Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92.
Article 3
Conditionsforairportcoordination
1. A Member State shall be under no obligation to desginate any
airport as coordinated save in accordance with the provisions of thisArticle.
2. A Member State may, however, provide for any airport to be
designated as a coordinated airport provided that principles of transpar-
ency, neutrality and non-discrimination are met.
3. (i) When air carriers representing more than a half of the opera-
tions at an airport and/or the airport authority consider thatcapacity is insufficient for actual or planned operations atcertain periods or
(ii) when new entrants encounter serious problems in securing slots
or
(iii) when a Member State considers it necessary,
the Member State shall ensure that a thorough capacity analysis is
carried out, having regard to commonly recognized methods, as soonas possible at the airport with the purpose of determining possibilites
of increasing the capacity in the short term through infrastructure or
operational changes, and to determine the time frame envisaged toresolve the problems. The analysis, shall be updated periodically. Boththe analysis and the method underlying it shall be made available tointerested parties.
4. If, after consultation with the air carriers using the airport regu-
larly, their representative organizations, the airport authorities, air
traffic control authorities and passengers' organizations where such
organizations exist, the analysis does not indicate possibilities of resol-ving the serious problems in the short term, the Member State shallensure that the airport shall be designated as fully coordinated for theperiods during which capacity problems occur.
5. When a capacity sufficient to meet actual or planned operations is
provided at a fully coordinated airport, its desgination as a fully coor-
dinated airport shall be lifted.
Article 4
Thecoordinator
1. The Member State responsible for a coordinated or fully coordi-
nated airport shall ensure the appointment of a natural or legal personwithdetailed knowledge of air carrier sch eduling coordination asairport coordinator after having consulted the air carriers using theairport regularly, their representative organizations and the airport1993R0095 — EN — 05.09.2003 — 002.001 — 4
(1) OJ No L 240, 24. 8. 1992, p. 1.
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authorities. The same coordinator may be appointed for more than one
airport.
2. A Member State shall ensure that the coordinator carries out his
duties under this Regulation in an independent manner.
3. The coordinator shall act in accordance with this Regulation in a
neutral, non-discriminatory and transparent way.
4. The coordinator shall participate in such international scheduling
conferences of air carriers as are permitted by Community law.
5. The coordinator shall be responsible for the allocation of slots.
6. The coordinator shall monitor the use of slots.
7. Where slots are allocated, the coordinator shall, on request and
within a reasonable time, make available for review to all interested
parties the following information:
(a) historical slots by airline, chronologically, for all air carriers at the
airport,
(b) requested slots (initial submissions), by air carriers and chronologi-
cally, for all air carriers,
(c) all allocated slots, and outstanding slot requests, listed individually
in chronologcial order, by air carriers, for all air carriers,
(d) remaining available slots,
(e) full details on the criteria being used in the allocation.
8. The information in paragraph 7 shall be made available at the
latest at the time of the relevant scheduling conferences and as appro-priate during the conferences and thereafter.
Article 5
Coordinationcommittee
1. A Member State shall ensure that in an airport that has been
designated as fully coordinated a coordination committee is set up to
assist, in a consultative capacity, the coordinator referred to in Article4. Participation in this committee shall be open to at least the aircarriers and/or their representative organizations using the airport(s)regularly, the airport authorities concerned and representatives of theair traffic control. The same coordination committee may be designated
for more than one airport.
The tasks of the coordination committee shall be, inter alia , to advise
on:
— possibilities for increasing the capacity determined in accordance
withArticle 6,
— improvements to traffic conditions prevailing at the airport in ques-
tion,
— complaints on the allocation of slots as provided for in Article 8
(7),
— the methods of monitoring the use of allocated slots,
— guidelines for allocation of slots, taking into account local condi-
tions,
— serious problems for new entrants as provided for in Article 10.
2. Paragraph1 may be applied to airports designated as coordinated
under the provisions of Article 3.
Article 6
Airportcapacity
1. At an airport where slot allocation takes place, the competent autho-
rities shall determine the capacity available for slot allocation twiceyearly in cooperation withrepresentatives of air traffic control,customs and immigration authorities and air carriers using theairport and/or their representative organizations and the airport coor-1993R0095 — EN — 05.09.2003 — 002.001 — 5
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dinator, according to commonly recognized methods. Where the
competent authority is not the airport authority it shall also beconsulted.
This exercise shall be based on an objective analysis of possibilities of
accommodating the air traffic, taking into account the different types oftraffic at that airport.
The results of this exercise shall be provided to the airport coordinator
in good time before the initial slot allocation takes place for thepurpose of scheduling conferences.
2. Paragraph1 may be applied to airports designated as coordinated
under the provisions of Article 3.
Article 7
Informationforthecoordinator
Air carriers operating or intending to operate at a coordinated or fully
coordinated airport shall submit to the coordinator relevant information
requested by the coordinator.
Article 8
Processofslotallocation
1. (a) Subject to the provisions of Article 10, a slot that has been oper-
ated by an air carrier as cleared by the coordinator shall entitlethat air carrier to claim the same slot in the next equivalentscheduling period.
(b) In a situation where all slot requests cannot be accommodated to
the satisfaction of the air carriers concerned, preference shall begiven to commercial air services and in particular to scheduledservices and programmed non-scheduled services.
(c) The coordinator shall also take into account additional priority
rules established by the air carrier industry and if possible addi-tional guidelines recommended by the coordination committeeallowing for local conditions, provided suchguidelines respectCommunity law.
2. If a requested slot cannot be accommodated, the coordinator shall
inform the requesting air carrier of the reasons therefore and shall indi-
cate the nearest alternative slot.
3. The coordinator shall, at all times, endeavour to accommodate ad
hocslot requests for any type of aviation including general aviation. To
this end, the slots available in the pool referred to in Article 10 but notyet allocated may be used, as may slots liberated at short notice.
4. Slots may be freely exchanged between air carriers or transferred
by an air carrier from one route, or type of service, to another, by
mutual agreement or as a result of a total or partial takeover or unilat-erally. Any such exchanges or transfers shall be transparent and subjectto confirmation of feasibility by the coordinator that:
(a) airport operations would not be prejudiced;
(b) limitations imposed by a Member State according to Article 9 are
respected;
(c) a change of use does not fall within the scope of Article 11.
5. Slots allocated to new entrants operating a service between two
Community airports may not be exchanged or transferred between air
carriers or by an air carrier from one route to another as provided for
in paragraph4 for a period of two seasons.
6. The Commission may establish, after consultations with air
carriers, coordinators, and airport authorities, recommended standardsfor the automated systems which are used by the coordinators in orderto ensure the proper implementation of Articles 4 and 7.1993R0095 — EN — 05.09.2003 — 002.001 — 6
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7. Where there are complaints about the allocation of slots, the coor-
dination committee shall consider the matter and may make proposalsto the coordinator in an attempt to resolve the problems.
8. If the problems cannot be resolved after consideration by the
coordination committee, the Member State concerned may provide formediation by an air carriers' representative organization or other thirdparty.
Article 9
Regionalservices
1. A Member State may reserve certain slots at a fully coordinated
airport for domestic scheduled services:
(a) on a route to an airport serving a peripheral or development region
in its territory, any suchroute being considered vital for th eeconomic development of the region in which the airport is located,on condition that:
(i) the slots concerned are being used on that route at the time of
entry into force of this Regulation;
(ii) only one air carrier is operating on the route;
(iii) no other mode of transport can provide an adequate service;
(iv) the reservation of slots shall end when a second air carrier has
established a domestic scheduled service on the route with thesame number of frequencies as the first air carrier and oper-ated it for at least a season;
(b) on routes where public service obligations have been imposed
under Community legislation.
2. The procedures in Article 4 (1) (d) to 4 (1) (i) of Regulation
(EEC) No 2408/92 shall be applied if another Community air carrieris interested in servicing the route and has not been able to obtain slotswithin one hour before or after the times requested of the coordinator.
3. The Member State shall communicate to the Commission a list of
routes for which slots have been so reserved at a fully coordinatedairport. This shall first be done at the entry into force of this Regula-tion. The Commission shall publish an overview of the routesconcerned in the Official Journal of the European Communities not
later than two months after the communication.
Article 10
Slotpool
1. At an airport where slot allocation takes place, a pool shall be set
up for eachcoordinated period and sh all contain newly created slots,
unused slots and slots which have been given up by a carrier during,or by the end of, the season or which otherwise become available.
2. Any slot not utilized shall be withdrawn and placed in the appro-
priate slot pool unless the non-utilization can be justified by reason of
the grounds of the grounding of an aircraft type, or the closure of anairport or airspace or other similarly exceptional case.
3. Slots which are allocated to an air carrier for the operation of a
scheduled service or a programmed non-scheduled service on a parti-
cular moment of a day and for the same day of the week over a
recognizable period up to one scheduling period shall not entitle thatair carrier to the same series of slots in the next equivalent period,unless the air carrier can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the coordi-nator that they have been operated, as cleared by the coordinator, by
that air carrier for at least 80 % of the time during the period for which
they have been allocated.
4. Slots allocated to an air carrier before 31 January for the
following summer season, or before 31 August for the following winterseason, but which are returned to the coordinator for reallocation1993R0095 — EN — 05.09.2003 — 002.001 — 7
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before those dates shall not be taken into account for the purposes of
the usage calculation.
5. If the 80 % usage of the series of slots cannot be demonstrated,
all the slots constituting that series shall be placed in the slot pool,unless the non-utilization can be justified on the basis of any of the
following reasons:
(a) unforeseeable and irresistible cases outside the air carrier's control
leading to, for example:
— grounding of the aircraft type generally used for the service in
question, or
— closure of an airport or airspace;
(b) problems relating to the starting up of a new scheduled passenger
service with aircraft of no more than eighty seats on a route
between a regional airport and the coordinated airport and where
the capacity does not exceed 30000 seats per year, or
(c) serious financial damage for a Community air carrier concerned,
with, as a result, the granting of a temporary licence by the licen-sing authorities pending financial reorganization of the air carrier inaccordance withArticle 5 (5) of Regulation (EEC) No 2407/92;
(d) an interruption of a series of non-scheduled services due to cancel-
lations by tour operators, in particular outside the usual peakperiod, provided that overall slot usage does not fall below 70 %;
(e) an interruption of a series of services due to action intended to
affect these services, which makes it practically and/or technicallyimpossible for the air carrier to carry out operations as planned.
6. If serious problems continue to exist for new entrants, the
Member State shall ensure that a meeting of the airport coordinationcommittee is convened. The purpose of the meeting shall be to
examine possibilities for remedying the situation. The Commission
shall be invited to such a meeting.
7. Without prejudice to Article 8 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 2408/
92, slots placed in the pools shall be distributed among applicant
carriers. 50 % of these slots shall be allocated to new entrants unlessrequests by new entrants are less than 50 %.
8. A new entrant which has been offered slots within two hours
before or after the time requested but has not accepted this offer shallnot retain the new entrant status.
Article 10a
Theeventsof11September2001
For the purposes of Article 10(3), coordinators shall accept that air
carriers are entitled to the same series of slots during summer sche-duling season 2002 and winter scheduling season 2002/2003 as hadbeen allocated to them on the date of 11 September 2001 for the
summer scheduling season 2001 and the winter scheduling season
2001/2002 respectively.
Article 10b
For the purpose of Article 10(3), coordinators shall accept that air
carriers are entitled to the same series of slots during the summer2004 scheduling season as were allocated to them during the summer2003 scheduling season.
Article 11
Safeguardmechanism
1. Where a solution cannot be found under paragraph 2 and taking
into account that competition between the air carriers concerned should1993R0095 — EN — 05.09.2003 — 002.001 — 8
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not be distorted, an air carrier shall not be allowed to use the flexibility
provided for in Article 8 (4) for the purpose of introducing one or moreadditional frequencies on a route between a fully coordinated airport
within the Community and an airport in another Member State, if
another Community air carrier, licensed by another Member State, hasnot been able, despite serious and consistent efforts, to obtain landingand departure slots which can reasonably be used for providing one ormore additional frequencies on the route within two hours before or
after the times requested of the coordinator.
This provision shall not apply if the air carrier using the flexibility
provided for in Article 8 (4) does not exceed the frequencies of the
other air carrier.
2. Taking into account that competition between the air carriers
concerned should not be distorted, the Member States responsible for
the fully coordinated airport referred to in paragraph 1 shall endeavour
to facilitate an agreement between the air carriers concerned.
An alternative solution to the problem should be sought such as:
— endeavouring to ensure that the request for slots of the air carrier
licensed by the other Member State is accommodated,
— the reasonable use by that carrier of the flexibility provided for in
Article 8 (4).
3. A Member State concerned may request the Commission to
investigate the application of this Article within two months of an air
carrier informing the coordinator of its intention to use the flexibility
provided for in Article 8 (4).
Article 12
General provisions
1. Whenever it appears that a third country, with respect to the allo-
cation of slots at airports,
(a) does not grant Community air carriers treatment comparable to that
granted by Member States to air carriers from that country, or
(b) does not grant Community air carriers de factonational treatment,
or
(c) grants air carriers from other third countries more favourable treat-
ment than Community air carriers,
appropriate action may be taken to remedy the situation in respect of
the airport or airports concerned, including the suspension wholly or
partially of the obligations of this Regulation in respect of an air carrierof that third country, in accordance with Community law.
2. Member States shall inform the Commission of any serious diffi-
culties encountered, in law or in fact, by Community air carriers inobtaining slots at airports in third countries.
Article 13
Reportandcooperation
1. The Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament
and the Council on the operation of this Regulation three years after itsentry into force. This report should include inter alia the following
elements:
(a) the structure of the airline industry;
(b) progress made by the industry in reducing the non-use of slots;
(c) size of the slot pool, as defined in Article 10 (1), each season at
selected airports;
(d) volume of unsuccessful applications for slots eachseason at
selected airports;
(e) number of new entrants applying for slots eachseason at selected
airports;1993R0095 — EN — 05.09.2003 — 002.001 — 9
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(f) use of dispute procedures established within the terms of Article 8.
2. Member States and the Commission shall cooperate in the appli-
cation of this Regulation, particularly as regards the collection of
information for the report mentioned in paragraph 1.
Article 14
Revision
The Council shall decide on the continuation or revision of this Regu-
lation by 1 July 1997, on the basis of a proposal from the Commission
to be submitted no later than 1 January 1996.
Article 15
Entryintoforce
This Regulation shall enter into force on the thirtieth day following that
of its publication in the OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities .
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable
in all Member States.1993R0095 — EN — 05.09.2003 — 002.001 — 10