1993R0095 — EN — 01.06.2002 — 001.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►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
▼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),
Whereasthere isa growing imbalance between the expans ion 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;
Whereasthe requirement of neutrality isbes t 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;
Whereasunder certain conditions , in order to facilitate operations , it is
desirable that a Member State should be able to designate an airport ascoordinated provided that principlesof trans parency, 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;
Whereasit isCommunity policy to facilitate competition and to encou-
rage entrance into the market, asprovided for in Council Regulation
(EEC) No 2408/92 of 23 July 1992 on access for Community air
carriersto intra-Community air routes (
4), and whereasthes e 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 regionsof 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 isdis torted;
Whereas it is desirable to make the best use of the existing slots in
order to meet the objectivess et out above;1993R0095 — EN — 01.06.2002 — 001.001 — 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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Whereasit isdes irable that third countriesoffer Community carriers
equivalent treatment;
Whereas the application of the provisions of this Regulation shall be
without prejudice to the competition ruleson the Treaty, in particular
Articles85 and 86;
Whereasarrangementsfor greater cooperation over the us e 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;
WhereasthisRegulation s hould 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 thisRegulation 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-tionsmade by the Foreign Minis tersof the Kingdom of Spain and the
United Kingdom on 2 December 1987 have come into operation. The
Governmentsof Spain and the United Kingdom will s o 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 termsof thisRegulation;
(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 — 01.06.2002 — 001.001 — 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 with CouncilRegulation (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 operationsof air carriersoperatingor 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 periodsfor which it isfullycoordinated, 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 carriersrepres enting more than a half of the opera-
tionsat an airport and/or the airport authority cons ider thatcapacity isins ufficient for actual or planned operationsatcertain periodsor
(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 theperiodsduring which capacity problemsoccur.
5. When a capacity sufficient to meet actual or planned operations is
provided at a fully coordinated airport, itsdes gination asa 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 personwith detailed knowledge of air carrier scheduling coordination asairport coordinator after having consulted the air carriers using theairport regularly, their representative organizations and the airport1993R0095 — EN — 01.06.2002 — 001.001 — 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
dutiesunder thisRegulation 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
conferencesof air carriersasare 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
partiesthe 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 detailson the criteria being us ed 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 conferencesand 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 authoritiesconcerned and repres entativesof 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
with Article 6,
— improvementsto traffic conditionsprevailing at the airport in ques -
tion,
— complaintson the allocation of s lotsasprovided 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. Paragraph 1 may be applied to airportsdes ignated ascoordinated
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 with representatives of air traffic control,customs and immigration authorities and air carriers using theairport and/or their representative organizations and the airport coor-1993R0095 — EN — 01.06.2002 — 001.001 — 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 typesoftraffic 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. Paragraph 1 may be applied to airportsdes ignated ascoordinated
under the provisions of Article 3.
Article 7
Informationforthecoordinator
Air carriersoperating 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 ascleared by the coordinator s hall 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 guidelinesrecommended by the coordination committeeallowing for local conditions, provided such guidelines 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
thisend, the s lotsavailable in the pool referred to in Article 10 but notyet allocated may be used, as may slots liberated at short notice.
4. Slotsmay be freely exchanged between air carriersor trans ferred
by an air carrier from one route, or type of service, to another, by
mutual agreement or asa res ult 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 operationswould not be prejudiced;
(b) limitationsimpos ed 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. Slotsallocated to new entrantsoperating a s ervice between two
Community airportsmay not be exchanged or trans ferred between air
carriersor by an air carrier from one route to another asprovided for
in paragraph 4 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 — 01.06.2002 — 001.001 — 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 such route being considered vital for theeconomic development of the region in which the airport islocated,on condition that:
(i) the slots concerned are being used on that route at the time of
entry into force of thisRegulation;
(ii) only one air carrier isoperating 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 proceduresin 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 timesreques ted 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 monthsafter the communication.
Article 10
Slotpool
1. At an airport where slot allocation takes place, a pool shall be set
up for each coordinated period and shall 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 groundsof the grounding of an aircraft type, or the clos ure of anairport or airspace or other similarly exceptional case.
3. Slotswhich 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, ascleared by the coordinator, by
that air carrier for at least 80 % of the time during the period for which
they have been allocated.
4. Slotsallocated 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 — 01.06.2002 — 001.001 — 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 thefollowing 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 routebetween a regional airport and the coordinated airport and where
the capacity doesnot exceed 30 000 s eatsper year, or
(c) serious financial damage for a Community air carrier concerned,
with, asa res ult, the granting of a temporary licence by the licen-
sing authorities pending financial reorganization of the air carrier inaccordance with Article 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 toexamine 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 applicantcarriers. 50 % of these slots shall be allocated to new entrants unless
requests by new entrants are less than 50 %.
8. A new entrant which hasbeen offered s lotswithin 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 had
been allocated to them on the date of 11 September 2001 for thesummer scheduling season 2001 and the winter scheduling season2001/2002 respectively.
Article 11
Safeguardmechanism
1. Where a solution cannot be found under paragraph 2 and taking
into account that competition between the air carriersconcerned s houldnot 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 more
additional frequencieson a route between a fully coordinated airportwithin the Community and an airport in another Member State, ifanother 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 or1993R0095 — EN — 01.06.2002 — 001.001 — 8
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more additional frequencieson the route within two hoursbefore or
after the timesreques ted of the coordinator.
This provision shall not apply if the air carrier using the flexibility
provided for in Article 8 (4) doesnot exceed the frequenciesof theother air carrier.
2. Taking into account that competition between the air carriers
concerned should not be distorted, the Member States responsible forthe fully coordinated airport referred to in paragraph 1 shall endeavour
to facilitate an agreement between the air carriersconcerned.
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 itsintention to us e the flexibilityprovided for in Article 8 (4).
Article 12
General provisions
1. Whenever it appearsthat a third country, with res pect to the allo-
cation of slots at airports,
(a) doesnot grant Community air carrierstreatment comparable to that
granted by Member Statesto air carriersfrom that country, or
(b) doesnot grant Community air carriers de facto national treatment,
or
(c) grantsair carriersfrom other third countriesmore 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 orpartially of the obligationsof thisRegulation in res pect of an air carrierof that third country, in accordance with Community law.
2. Member States shall inform the Commission of any serious diffi-
cultiesencountered, in law or in fact, by Community air carriersin
obtaining 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 thisRegulation three yearsafter its
entry into force. Thisreport s hould 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 each season at
selected airports;
(e) number of new entrants applying for slots each season at selected
airports;
(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 thisRegulation, particularly asregardsthe collection ofinformation for the report mentioned in paragraph 1.1993R0095 — EN — 01.06.2002 — 001.001 — 9
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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
ThisRegulation s hall enter into force on the thirtieth day following that
of itspublication in the OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities .
ThisRegulation s hall be binding in itsentirety and directly applicable
in all Member States.1993R0095 — EN — 01.06.2002 — 001.001 — 10