Amended proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council regulation (EEC) No 95/93 of 18 January 1993 on common rules for the allocation of slots at Community airports (presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the EC Treaty)
Date: 2002-11-07
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: air transport, airport, common transport policy, transport planning

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 7.11.2002
COM(2002) 623 final

2001/0140 (COD)

Amended proposal for a

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

amending Council regulation (EEC) No 95/93 of 18 January 1993 on common rules for
the allocation of slots at Community airports

(presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the EC Treaty)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

During  its  10  June  2002  Plenary  Session,  the  European  Parliament  approved  subject  to  a
number  of  amendments  the  Commission's  proposal  for  a  European  Parliament  and  Council
Regulation  amending  Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  95/93  of  18  January  1993  on  common
rules for the allocation of slots at Community airports. The Economic and Social Committee
and the Committee of the Regions supported the legislative initiative as well.

The  European  Parliament  agrees  with  the  main  elements  of  the  Commission's  proposal.
However, it has formulated a number of amendments, on the basis of which the Commission
proposes to introduce some new elements to its original text.

The Commission appreciates the pragmatic and balanced approach followed by the European
Parliament  in  the  matter  and  recognises  in  particular  the  added  value  of  the  amendments
proposing to strengthen certain elements of the Regulation and in that way the functioning of
the proposed slot allocation rules.

Certain issues are considered to be of crucial importance for the effectiveness of the proposal
and for the  revision  in  itself,  i.e.  without  these  measures  the  revision  would  largely  lose  its
"raison d'être". These issues are the following:

–  Definitions: legal nature of slots and new entrants (affecting notably regional services and

position of air carriers operating within alliances).

–  Principles  of  slot  allocation:  slot  allocation  should  take  into  consideration  environmental
measures  (including  size  of  aircraft)  and  inter-modality  in  order  to  alleviate  as  much
possible congestion as well as in order not to reflect all capacity constraints that affect the
performance of the infrastructure.

–  Coordination  committee:  local  rules  elaborated  by  that  committee  (all  parties  concerned)
should  be  approved  by  the  member  State  concerned  in  order  to  ensure  that  they  are
compatible with community law. Therefore, one member of the committee (airport) should
not be allowed to adopt such rules independently and without the approval of the MS.

–  Status  of  the  coordinator:  the  accrued  obligations  of  the  coordinators  (cross-checks,
permanent  monitoring,  imposition  of  sanctions)  and  its  legal,  factual  and  financial
independence  require  that  its  decisions  are  subject  to  judicial  review.  It  is  therefore,
necessary  that  coordinators  are  not  exempt  from  any  form  of  liability  (damages)  as  their
decisions  may  cause  injury  to  the  air  carriers  concerned  by  the  measures.  Thus,
coordinators  should  be  at  least  liable  for  gross  negligence  and  wilful  misconduct  in  the
course of their activities.

–  Prevention of slot transfers: this issue should be the subject of the second phase revision.
However,  until  there  is  a  mechanism  that  provides  for  a  new  system  of  slot  allocation
based on market options and neutral, non-discriminatory, transparent and fair procedures,
the  current  slot  allocation  process  does  not  allow  for  slot  trading  and  for  fake  slot
exchanges (covered slot transfers).

2

–  Sanctions:  in  order  to  prevent  that  air  carriers  abuse  their  slots  and  thus  exacerbate  the
problem of scarce capacity resources at Europe's hub and spoke airports, it is proposed that
they  lose  their  slots  when  they  intentionally  and  consistently  abuse  their  slots  or,  still
before  the  end  of  the  scheduling  season,  it  is  clear  that  they  do  not  fulfil  the  usage
requirements for slots - 80% usage during a season).

–  Timing  of  the  proposal:  at  this  stage  it  is  premature  to  state  by  which  moment  the
Commission will have to propose further legislative proposal to further revise the current
rules  (market  access).  This  may  be  considered  only  when  a  study  to  assess  all  possible
options  for  such  a  revision  has  been  completed  and  industry  stakeholders  and  Member
States have been duly consulted.

In  the  light  of  these  considerations,  the  Commission  is  prepared  to  incorporate  those
suggestions  and  amendments  aiming  at  improving  and  clarifying  the  current  text  of  its
proposal. In particular:

(cid:1)  A large part (19) of the proposed amendments are acceptable as adopted by the European
Parliament. These concern the following elements of the proposal: the definition of new
entrant,  air  carrier,  the  functions  of  the  coordinator,  the  functions  of  the  coordination
committee and the designation of coordination parameters, the criteria of slot allocation.
Also,  periods  for  the  effective  dealing  with  complaints  have  been  shortened  to  ensure
quick solutions within reasonable time. These amendments are the following: 10, 11, 13,
14, 16, 19, 21, 22, 24, 27, 29, 30, 36, 39, 40, 41, 42, 47 and 49.

The following articles have been amended in the light of the above: 2 points b), f) and o),
3 para. 5, 4 para.1 and 6, 5 para.1, 6 para.1 second subparagraph, 7 para.1 and 3, 8 para. 7,
8a para. 4 points a), b) and c), 8b, 11 para. 1, 14 para.1.

(cid:1)  Certain amendments (4) are acceptable only in principle: they concern the recitals of the
Regulation  (amendments  3  and  6),  the  definition  of  new  entrant  and  the  powers  of  the
Commission  when  examining  cases  of  exceptional  circumstances  (amendments  12  and
44).

The following recitals and articles have been amended in the light of the above: recitals 5
and 9, article 7 para.1 second subparagraph, article 10 para. 4 and 5.

(cid:1)  Some  amendments  (5)  are  acceptable  with  minor  redrafting  (amendments  4,  37,  48,  51
and 52), while other (6) are acceptable only in part and with redrafting: In particular:

–  Amendment 5 (concerning recital 5) can be accepted only in part and with redrafting to
ensure that the proposal states clearly that in future rules and procedures will have to be
devised  for  the  coordination  of  airport  and  airway  slots.  As  for  the  rest  of  the
amendment,  it  cannot  be  accepted  because  it  is  confusing  as  to  which  part  of  the
regulation is applicable or not. Also, a part of it is redundant.

–  Amendment 9 (concerning article 2 point a)), concerns the definition of slots. A part of
it  referring  to  the  "relevant  terms  and  conditions  of  use"  has  to  be  rejected  as  in
amendment  5.  Also,  the  term  "exclusively"  has  to  be  rejected,  as  there  are  no  other
Community rules regarding slot allocation. The rest can be accepted as it improves the
clarity of the proposed definition.

3

–  Amendment  17  (concerning  article  3  para.3)  is  acceptable  only  in  part  and  with
redrafting  to  ensure  that  the  proposal  states  clearly  that  the  analysis  of  the  airport
capacity  is  also  made  at  the  request  of  the  coordination  committee,  or  the  air  carriers
representing more than half of the operations at an airport, or the managing body of the
airport, or the Member State, or the Commission.

–  Amendment  31  (regarding  article  8  para.  2  third  subparagraph)  concerns  the  right  of
Member States to limit slot entitlements operated with a minimum size of aircraft. Only
the first part of the amendment can be accepted, which clarifies that the measure is to
be  applied  without  prejudice  to  Article  9  of  the  slot  Regulation  and  the  relevant
provisions of the market access Regulation (Council Regulation 2408/92). The rest has
to be rejected as too restrictive.

–  Amendment  32  (regarding  article  8  para.  4)  concerns  the  re-timing  possibilities  of
series  of  slots  with  "grandfather  status".  The  part,  which  clarifies  that  re-timing  can
also  be  accepted  when  air  carriers  are  allocated  series  of  slots  closer  to  their  initial
requests is acceptable. The rest of the amendment proposing to delete any reference to
cases  of  "operational  reasons",  has  to  be  rejected  as  it  opens  the  door  to  different
interpretations of what can be considered as an "operational reason".

–  Amendment 33 (regarding article 8 para.5) concerns the local rules that are decided by
the  coordination  committee  and  approved  by  the  Member  State  concerned.  The  only
acceptable  part  of  the  amendment  is  the  reference  to  "Community-wide  guidelines".
These have been already developed as "best practices" by the European association of
airport coordinators. The  rest of the  amendment  cannot  be  accepted,  as  it  risks  being
discriminatory given that the term "effective use of airport capacity" may be differently
interpreted at each airport. Furthermore, the question of what is "effective use of airport
capacity" is a matter for the second phase revision of the slot allocation rules.

The  following  recitals  and  articles  have  been  amended  in  the  light  of  amendments
accepted  with  minor  redrafting:  recital  7,  article  8a  para.  1  point  b)  first  subparagraph,
article 11 para. 2 point c), article 14 para. 4 and 5.

(cid:1)  The  Commission  has  to  reject  a  number  (18)  of  proposed  changes  to  the  Regulation,

which affect the core issues of its proposal. More specifically:

–  The balanced approach of the proposal: amendments 1, 18 and 28 affect significantly
the balanced  approach  of  the proposal  that  ensures  that  all  interests  (airlines,  airports
and  consumers)  are  duly  considered.  On  the  one  hand  the  exclusive  reference  to
consumers  creates  the  impression  that  the  proposed  revision  is  not  in  the  interest  of
airports (suppliers of capacity) and airlines (users). On the other hand, amendments 18
and  28  delete  any  reference  to  local  passenger  organisations  from  the  consultation
process  regarding  the  airport  capacity  analysis  and  the  determination  of  the
coordination  parameters.  Accepting  these  amendments  would  deprive  completely
consumer  interests  from  playing  any  role  in  the  slot  allocation  process.  As  to
amendment 46, it is not accepted because it affects the balance between incumbent and
new  entrant  air  carriers.  The  following  recitals  and  articles  are  concerned  by  the
rejected amendments: recital 2, article 3 para.4, article 6 para. 3, article 10 para. 6.

4

–  The  definitions  and  the  clarity  of  slot  allocation  criteria:  certain  amendments  would
either prejudice the outcome of the study on the introduction of a market mechanism,
which  has  not  yet  been  carried  out  (amendment  7)  or  introduce  confusion  on  the
application  of  the  slot  allocation  criteria  at  both  Community  and  world-wide  level
(amendments  2,  15,  45,  and  50)  or  are  redundant  (amendments  26  and  38).  The
following recitals and articles are concerned by the rejected amendments: recitals 3 and
13,  articles  2  point  f)  subparagraph  ii),  article  5  para.  3,  article  8a  para.  1  point  c),
article 10 para. 5 second subparagraph, article 14 para. 2.

–  The status of the coordinator: Amendments 8 and 48 concern the accountability of the
coordinator; the European Parliament has proposed to exempt the coordinator from all
liability  despite  his 
increased  obligations.  The  Commission  places  particular
importance  to  the  duties  of  the  coordinator  and  cannot  therefore  accept  a  general
exemption as suggested by the Parliament. On the contrary  the  Commission is  of  the
opinion  that  the  liability  of  the  coordinator  should  be  limited  to  cases  of  gross
negligence and wilful misconduct. Amendment 23, it is considered by the Commission
to be too broad imposing undue burden on the information obligations of coordinators.
The following  recitals  and articles  are  concerned  by  the  rejected  amendments:  recital
17 together with article 11 para. 2 point c), article 4 para. 8.

–  Designation  of  airports  based  on  transparent  and  non-discriminatory  procedures:
Amendment 20 (regarding article 3 para. 5 subparagraph 1) ignores that there should be
at  all  times  a  capacity  analysis  before  slot  coordination  is  imposed  at  an  airport  and
should therefore be rejected.

–  The  functioning  of  the  coordination  committee:  amendment  25  (regarding  article  5
para. 3) ignores that rules of procedure are a necessary functioning requirement for the
coordination  committee  to  ensure  transparency  and  cannot,  therefore,  remain  only  an
option. As for amendment 34 (introducing a new subparagraph into article 8 para 5), it
is necessary that local rules are always adopted by the coordination committee and not
by any other single entity and approved by Member States to ensure that they  do not
infringe community law in any way.  Also, if accepted, the amendment would impose
the obligation on coordinators to apply rules outside the Regulation; this would create
the danger that certain rules require application even if they may be incompatible with
the Regulation.

–  Intermodality and Public Service Obligations: amendments 35 and 43 (regarding article
8 para. 6 and article 9 para. 1 respectively) cannot be accepted as they affect negatively
established  Community  law  regarding  inter-modality  and  Public  Service  Obligations.
Amendment 35 concerns the application of article 9 of Council Regulation (EEC) No
2408/92  on  access  for  Community  air  carriers  on  intra-Community  routes.  It  is  clear
from  that  article  that  decisions  as  to  which  routes  are  affected  by  its  application  are
taken by Member States and not by any other entity. As to amendment 43, if accepted
it  would  introduce  discriminatory  treatment  of  air  services  on  routes  where  public
service obligations have been imposed in application of article 4 of Council Regulation
(EEC) No 2408/92. In fact, it would render the application of both regulations on that
matter impossible.

In the light of all the above and in compliance with Article 250, paragraph 2, the Commission
modifies its proposal.

5

2001/0140 (COD)

Amended proposal for a

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

amending Council regulation (EEC) No 95/93 of 18 January 1993 on common rules for
the allocation of slots at Community airports

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community,  and  in  particular
Article 80(2) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission1,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee2 and of the Committee of
Regions3,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

Following the conclusions of the European Council held in Stockholm on  23  and  24
March 2001, the present Regulation constitutes a first step in a comprehensive revision
process; in order to review the developments, in particular with respect to new entrants
and monetised slot transfers, this Regulation should be reviewed after a fixed period of
operation;

Experience  has  shown  that  Regulation  (EEC)  95/93  on  common  rules  for  the
allocation of slots at Community airports4 should be strengthened to ensure the fullest
and most flexible use of limited capacity at congested airports;

It  is  therefore  necessary  to  amend  that  Regulation  substantially  in  accordance  with
Article 14 thereof and to clarify a number of its provisions;

It  is  desirable  to  follow  international  terminology  and  therefore  use  the  terms
schedules facilitated airport and coordinated airport instead of coordinated and  fully-
coordinated respectively;

Airports  where  there  are  serious  capacity  shortcomings  should  be  designated  as
coordinated on the basis of objective criteria and after a capacity analysis has been
conducted; whereas  at coordinated airports  detailed rules are required to ensure  that
the principles of transparency, neutrality and non-discrimination are fully adhered to;

1 OJ C
2.OJ C
3 OJ C
4 OJ L 14; 22.1.1993; p. 1. Council Regulation (EEC) No 95/93 of 18 January 1993, OJ L 14, 22.1.1993, p. 1

6

                                                
(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

At  schedules  facilitated  airports  the  schedules  facilitator  must  act  in  an  independent
manner;  whereas  at  coordinated  airports  the  coordinator  plays  a  central  role  in  the
coordinating process; whereas, therefore, coordinators must be in a fully independent
position and their responsibilities should be specified in detail;

It  is  necessary  to  specify  in  detail  the  role  of  the  coordination  committee  to  be
established to carry out advisory and mediation functions in relation to slot allocation;
it  is  important  to  ensure  that  the  coordination  committee  cannot  take  decisions
that would be binding on the coordinator;

It is also necessary to clarify that slot allocation must be considered as a right of usage
giving air carriers the entitlement to access the airport facilities by landing and taking-
off  at  specific  dates  and  timings  for  the  duration  of  the  period  for  which  the
entitlement  has  been  granted;  the  need  to  devise  rules  and  procedures  for
coordinating airport and airway slots should be examined;

However, in the interest of stability of operations, the existing system provides for the
reallocation  of  slots  with  established  historical  precedence  ("grandfather  rights")  to
incumbent  air  carriers;  whereas,  in  order  to  encourage  regular  operations  at  a
coordinated airport it is necessary to provide that grandfather rights relate to series of
slots; at the same time Member States should be able to restrict an entitlement to
a  series  of  slots  in  response  to  changed  environmental  conditions  at  the  airport
concerned;

(10)

Slots  with  historical  precedence  must  comply  with  the  usage  calculation  as  well  as
with all other relevant provisions of the Regulation to continue to entitle air carriers to
claim  these  slots  in  the  next  equivalent  scheduling  period;  whereas  the  situation  of
grandfather  rights  in  case  of  joint  operations,  code-share  or  franchise  agreements
should be clarified;

(11) Regular operations at an airport should be given priority which should be administered

strictly without distinction between scheduled and non-scheduled services;

(12)

(13)

(14)

In order to ensure the efficient use of capacity and reduce the environmental impact at
congested airports and to further promote intermodality it is necessary to also consider
in  the  process  of  slot  allocation  the  existence  of  adequate  services  of  satisfactory
quality provided by other modes of transport;

The definition of new entrant should strengthen the provision of adequate air services
to regions and increase potential competition on intra-Community routes;

In  order  better  to  ensure  that  third  countries  offer  Community  carriers  comparable
treatment, a procedure should be established enabling the Community more efficiently
to take action against third countries which do not grant comparable treatment to that
granted in the Community;

7

(15)

Since the measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation are measures
of general scope within the meaning of Article 2 of Council Decision 1999/468/EC of
28  June  1999  laying  down  the  procedures  for  the  exercise  of  implementing  powers
conferred  on  the  Commission5,  they  should  be  adopted  by  use  of  the  regulatory
procedure provided for in Article 5 of that Decision;

(16) At  a  coordinated  airport,  access  for  an  air  carrier  is  only  possible  if  a  slot  has  been
allocated; whereas measures should be introduced to guarantee the enforcement of this
Regulation, in particular when air carriers repeatedly and intentionally do not respect
the slot allocation rules;

(17)

There should be a judicial procedure to review decisions taken by the coordinator;

(18)

For  the  avoidance  of  doubt,  it  should  be  specified  that,  the  application  of  the
provisions of this Regulation shall be without prejudice to the competition rules of the
Treaty, in particular Articles 81 and 82 thereof and Regulation (EEC) No 4064/89 on
the  control  of  the  concentrations  between  undertakings6,  as  last  amended  by
Regulation (EC) No 1310/977.

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EEC) No 95/93 is hereby amended as follows:

(1)

Article 1 paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

‘This Regulation shall apply to Community airports.’

(2)

Article 2 is amended as follows:

(a) Points (a) and (b) are replaced by the following:

‘(a) 

‘slot’ shall mean the entitlement established under this Regulation, of an air carrier to
use the  full range of airport  infrastructure  necessary to  operate  an air service  at  a
coordinated airport on a specific date and time for the purpose of landing and take-off
as allocated by a coordinator in accordance with this Regulation;

(b)

‘new entrant’ shall mean:

(i) 
an air carrier requesting, as part of a series of slots, a slot at an airport on any day,
where, if the carrier’s request were accepted, it would in total hold fewer than five slots at
that airport on that day, or

(ii) 
an  air  carrier  requesting  a  series  of  slots  for  a  non-stop  scheduled  passenger
service between two Community airports where at most two other air carriers operate the
same non-stop scheduled service between these airports or airport systems on that day,
where, if the carrier’s request were accepted, it would nonetheless hold fewer than five
slots at that airport on that day for that non-stop service;

5 OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p.23
6 OJ L 395, 30.12.1989, p.1; corrected version, OJ L 257, 21.9.1990, p. 13
7 OJ L 180, 9.7.1997, p.1

8

                                                
(iii) 
an  air  carrier  requesting  a  series of  slots  at  an  airport  for  a  non-stop  scheduled
service between that airport and a regional airport where no other air carrier operates a
direct scheduled passenger service between these airports or airport systems on that day,
where, if the carrier’s request were accepted, it would nonetheless hold fewer than five
slots at that airport on that day for that non-stop service.

For  the  purpose  of  paragraphs  (i)  and  (ii),  an  air  carrier  shall  not  be  considered  as  a  new
entrant if at the time of allocation:

–  it  has,  at  the  airport  concerned,  a  joint  operation,  code  sharing  or  franchise  arrangement

with another air carrier which itself is not considered as a new entrant, or

–  the majority of its capital is held by another air carrier which itself is not considered as a new

entrant (subsidiary company), or

–  it holds directly or indirectly the majority of the capital of another air carrier which itself is

not considered as a new entrant (parent company), or

–  it forms part of a group of  air carriers of which one is not considered as a new entrant, or

–  it is an associated air carrier belonging to the same holding company.

For the purpose of paragraph (ii), an air carrier, which alone or together with other partners in
a group of airlines holds more than 7% of the total number of all slots available for allocation
on the day in  question  at a  particular  airport,  or  airport  system  shall  not  be  considered  as  a
new entrant at that airport on that day.’

(b) Point (f) is replaced by:

‘(f) (i) ‘air carrier’ shall mean an air transport undertaking holding a valid operating licence or
equivalent at the latest on 31 January for the following summer season or on 31 August
for the following winter season. For the purpose of Articles 4, 7, 8, 8a, 10 and 14, the
definition of air carrier shall also include business aviation operators, provided that they
operate scheduled services at the airport in question.’

      (ii) ‘group  of  air  carriers’  shall  mean  two  or  more  carriers  which  together  perform  joint,
franchise  operations  or  code-sharing  or  in  any  other  way  cooperate  for  the  purpose  of
operating a specific air service.

(c)

'(g)

Point (g) is replaced by the following:

‘coordinated  airport’  shall  mean  any  airport  where,  in  order  to  land  or  take  off,  it  is
necessary for an air carrier or any other aircraft operator to have been allocated a slot by a
coordinator;'

(d) Points (i), (j), (k), (l), (m), (n) and (o) are added:

‘(i)

‘schedules  facilitated  airport’  shall  mean  an  airport  where  there  is  potential  for
congestion at some periods  of the day, week or  year  which  is  likely  to  be  resolved  by
voluntary  co-operation  between  air  carriers  and  where  a  schedules  facilitator  has  been
appointed to facilitate the operations of air carriers operating or intending to operate at
that airport;

9

(j)

(k)

(l)

(m)

(n)

‘managing body of an airport’ shall mean the body which, whether or not in conjunction
with other activities, has the task under national laws or regulations of administering and
managing  the  airport  facilities  and  coordinating  and  controlling  the  activities  of  the
various operators present at the airport or within the airport system concerned;

‘series  of  slots’  shall  mean  at  least  five  slots  having  been  requested  for  a  scheduling
period at the same time regularly on the same weekday and allocated in that way or, if
that it is not possible, allocated at approximately the same time.

‘regional  airport’  shall  mean  a  regional  and  accessibility  connecting  point  or  a
Community  connecting  point  as  defined  in  Section  6  of  Decision  No  1692/96/EC  on
Community guidelines for the development of the trans-European network8;

‘business  aviation’  shall  mean  that  sector  of  general  aviation  which  concerns  the
operation or use of aircraft by companies for the carriage of passengers or goods as an
aid  to  the  conduct  of  their  business,  flown  for  purposes  generally  considered  not  for
public hire and piloted by individuals having, at the minimum, a valid commercial pilot
license with an instrument rating;

‘coordination  parameters’  shall  mean  the  expression  in  operational  terms  of  all  the
capacity  available  for  slot  allocation  at  an  airport  during  each  coordination  period  by
reflecting all technical, operational and environmental factors that affect the performance
of the airport infrastructure and its different sub-systems;

(o)        ‘taxiing time’ shall mean the time the aircraft requires to assume takeoff position on
the  runway,  or  on landing,  the  time  necessary  to  clear  the  runway  and  bring  the
aircraft to a complete stop. ’

(3)

Article 3 is amended as follows:

(a) Paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

‘1 (a)  A  Member  State  shall  be  under  no  obligation  to  designate  any  airport  as  schedules
facilitated or coordinated save in accordance with the provisions of this Article.

    (b) A Member State shall not designate an airport as coordinated save in accordance with the

provisions of paragraph 3.’

(b) The term ‘coordinated’ in Paragraph 2 is replaced by "schedules facilitated".

(c) Paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:

‘3. 

The Member State  responsible shall  ensure that a thorough  capacity analysis is carried
out  at  an  airport  with  no  designation  status  or  at  a  schedules  facilitated  airport  by  the
managing body of that airport when that Member State consider it necessary or within six
months:

(i) 
following a written request from  air  carriers  representing  more than  half  of  the
operations at an airport or from the managing body of the airport when they consider
that capacity is insufficient for actual or planned operations at certain periods; or

8 OJ L 228, 9.9.1996, p.99

10

                                                
(ii)  upon  request  from  the  Commission,  in  particular  where  an  airport  is  in  reality
accessible only for air carriers that have been allocated slots by a coordinator or where
air  carriers  and  in  particular  new  entrants  encounter  serious  problems  in  securing
landing and take off possibilities at the airport in question.

This  analysis,  based  on  commonly  recognised  standardised  methods,  shall  determine
the all capacity shortcomings, taking into account environmental constraints applicable
at the airport in question. The analysis shall consider the possibilities of overcoming such
shortcomings through new or modified infrastructure, operational changes, or any other
change, and the time frame envisaged to resolve the problems. It shall be updated at least
every  three  years  if  paragraph  5  has  been  invoked,  or  when  there  are  changes  at  the
airport influencing significantly the capacity and the use of it, or at the request of the
coordination  committee,  the  air  carriers  representing  more  than  half  of  the
operations at an airport, the managing body of the airport, the Member State, or
the Commission. Both the analysis and the method used shall be made available to the
parties having requested the analysis and, upon request, to other interested parties. The
analysis shall be communicated to the Commission at the same time.

Standards  for  the  elaboration  of  the  capacity  analysis  may  be  established  in
accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 13 (2).’

(d) Paragraph 4 is replaced by the following paragraphs 4 and 5 and the present paragraph 5
becomes paragraph 6 whereby the term ‘fully coordinated airport’ is replaced by ‘coordinated
airport’:

‘4. 

5.

On the basis of the analysis the Member State shall consult on the capacity situation at
the  airport  with  the  managing  body  of  the  airport,  the  air  carriers  using  the  airport
regularly, their representative organisations, representatives of general aviation, air traffic
control authorities and local passengers’ organisations where such organisations exist.

The Member State shall ensure that the airport is designated as coordinated for the period
during  which  a  capacity  analysis  has  determined  that  the  capacity  problems  occur
exist for at least one scheduling period only if

a) the shortcomings are of such a serious nature that significant delays cannot be avoided
at the airport and

b) there are no possibilities of resolving these problems in the short term.’

(4)

Article 4 is amended as follows:

(a) The title is replaced by the following: “The schedules facilitator and the coordinator”

(b) Paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

‘1. 

The  Member  State  responsible  for  a  schedules  facilitated  or  coordinated  airport  shall
ensure the appointment of a qualified natural or legal person  as schedules facilitator or
airport  coordinator  respectively  after  having  consulted  the  air  carriers  using  the  airport
regularly, their representative organisations and the managing body of the airport and the
coordination committee, where such a committee already exists. The same schedules
facilitator or coordinator may be appointed for more than one airport.’

11

(c) Paragraph 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 are replaced by the following:

‘2.

a)

b)

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

The  Member  State  responsible  for  a  schedules  facilitated  or  coordinated  airport  shall
ensure that:

at a schedules facilitated airport, the schedules facilitator acts under this Regulation in an
independent, neutral, non-discriminatory and transparent  manner,

at  a  coordinated  airport  the  de  facto  independence  of  the  coordinator  shall  be  ensured
additionally by separating the coordinator institutionally and financially from any single
interested  party.  The  Member  State  shall  ensure  that  the  coordinator  acts  according  to
this Regulation in a neutral, non-discriminatory and transparent way and that sufficient
resources  are  made  available  in  such  a  way  that  the  financing  of  the  coordination
activities cannot affect the independence of the coordinator.

The  schedules  facilitator  and  the  coordinator  shall  participate  in  such  international
scheduling conferences of air carriers as are permitted by Community law.

The  schedules  facilitator  shall  advise  air  carriers  and  recommend  alternative  arrival
and/or departure times when congestion is likely to occur.

The coordinator shall be the sole person responsible for the allocation of slots. He shall
allocate the slots according to the provisions of this Regulation and make provision that
slots can also be allocated outside office hours in urgency situations.

The schedules facilitator and the coordinator shall monitor the use of schedules and slots
allocated and actually used in close co-operation with the managing body of the airport
and with the air traffic control authorities. The coordinator shall submit an annual activity
report to the Commission concerning, in particular, the application of Articles 8(a) and
14 as well as on any complaints regarding the application of Articles 8 and 10 submitted
to the Coordination Committee and the initiatives taken to resolve them.

All schedules  facilitators  and  coordinators shall  cross-check  their  databases  in  order  to
detect inconsistencies in schedules.’

(d)  Paragraph  7  becomes  paragraph  8  and  the  introductory  wording  of  the  paragraph  is
replaced by the following:

‘The  coordinator shall  on  request  and  within  a  reasonable  time  make  available  free  of
charge  for  review  to  all  interested  parties,  either  in  written  or  in  any  other  easily
accessible form, the following information:’

(e) The following sentence is added to paragraph 8, which becomes new paragraph 9:

‘On request, the coordinator shall provide such information in a summarised format. A
cost-related fee may be charged for the provision of such summarised information.’

(f) The following is inserted as new paragraph (10):

‘Where  relevant  and  generally  accepted  schedules  information  standards  are  available,
the schedules  facilitator,  the  coordinator  and the  air  carriers shall  apply  them  provided
that they comply with Community law.’

12

(5)

Articles 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, are replaced by the following:

‘Article 5

Coordination committee

1.

At a coordinated airport, the Member State responsible shall ensure that a coordination
committee is set up. The same coordination committee may be designated for more than
one airport. Membership in this committee shall be open at least to the air carriers, and
their  representative  organisations  and  representatives  of  general  aviation  using  the
airport(s)  regularly,  the  managing  body  of  the  airport  concerned,  and  the  relevant  air
traffic control authorities.

The tasks of the coordination committee shall be

a)

to propose or advise the coordinator and/or the Member State on:

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

b)

-

possibilities for  increasing  the  capacity  of  the  airport determined in  accordance
with Article 3 or improving the use of it;

coordination parameters to be determined in accordance with Article 6;

local  guidelines  for  the  allocation  of  slots,  taking  into  account  possible
environmental concerns, as provided for in Article 8 (5);

improvements to traffic conditions prevailing at the airport in question;

complaints on the allocation of slots as provided for in Article 11;

the methods of monitoring the use of allocated slots;

serious problems encountered by new entrants as provided for in Article 10(8);

all questions relating to the capacity of the airport.

to mediate between all parties concerned on:

complaints on the allocation of slots as provided for in Article 11.

2.

3.

Member State representatives and the coordinator shall be invited to the meetings of the
coordination committee as observers.

The coordination committee shall draw up written rules of procedure covering inter alia
participation, elections, frequency of meetings, and language(s) used. Any member of the
Coordination Committee may propose local guidelines as provided for in Article 8 (3).
At  the  request  of  the  coordinator,  the  coordination  committee  shall  discuss  suggested
local guidelines for the allocation of slots. A report of the discussions in the Coordination
Committee shall be submitted to the Member State concerned with an indication of the
respective positions within the Committee.

13

1.

2.

3.

1.

2.

Article 6

Coordination parameters

At a coordinated airport the responsible Member State shall ensure the determination of
the  parameters  for  slot  allocation  twice  yearly,  while  taking  account  of  all  relevant
technical, operational and environmental constraints as well as any changes thereto.

This  exercise  shall  be  based  on  an  objective  analysis  of  the  possibilities  of
accommodating  the  air  traffic,  taking  into  account  the  different  types  of  traffic  at  the
airport, the airspace congestion of local airspace likely to occur during the coordination
period and the capacity situation.

The parameters shall be provided to the airport coordinator in good time before the initial
slot allocation takes place for the purpose of scheduling conferences.

For  the  purpose  of  the  exercise  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  the  coordinator  shall  define
relevant coordination time intervals after consultation of the coordination committee and
in the light of the capacity situation.

The determination of the parameters and the methodology used as well as any changes
thereto  shall  be  discussed  in  detail  with  the  coordination  committee  with  a  view  to
increasing  the  number  of  slots  available  for  allocation,  before  a  final  decision  on  the
parameters for slot allocation is taken. All relevant documents shall be made available on
request to interested parties.

Article 7

Information for schedules facilitator and coordinator

Air carriers operating or intending to operate at a schedules facilitated or coordinated
airport shall submit to the schedules facilitator or coordinator respectively all relevant
information  requested  by  them.  All  relevant  information  shall  be  provided  in  the
format and within the time limit specified by the schedules facilitator or coordinator.

In particular, An air carrier wishing to acquire new-entrant status, shall be required
to inform the coordinator, in standard industry format at the time of the request for
allocation, whether it would benefit from the status of new entrant and to submit all
necessary  information  to  enable  that  coordinator  to  establish  whether  the  air
carrier  concerned  is  eligible  for  such  status,  in  accordance  with  article  2  (b),  in
respect of requested slots.

For  all  other  airports  with  no  particular  designation  status,  information  about  planned
services  of  air  carriers,  when  requested  by  a  coordinator,  shall  be  provided  by  the
managing body of the airport to that coordinator.

In the event of failure by an air carrier to provide the information referred to in paragraph
1, or of the provision of false or misleading information by an air carrier, the coordinator
shall  not  take  into  consideration  the  slot  request  or  requests  by  that  air  carrier  unless
mitigating circumstances exist. The coordinator shall give that air carrier the opportunity
to submit its observations.

14

3.

1.

2. 

3.

4.

5.

The schedules facilitator or the coordinator, the managing body of the airport and the air
traffic control authorities shall exchange all the necessary information required including
flight  scheduling  data  and  details  of  slots  actually  allocated  for  the  exercise  of  their
respective duties.

Article 8

Process of slot allocation

Series of slots are allocated from the slot pool to applicant carriers as entitlements to
use the airport infrastructure for the purpose of landing and take-off for the scheduling
period for which they are requested, at the expiry of which they have to be returned to
the slot pool as set up according to the provisions of Article 10.

Without prejudice to Articles 7, 8a, 9, 10(1) and 14, paragraph (1) of this Article shall not
apply when the following conditions are met:

a series of slots has been used by an air carrier for the operation of scheduled and

-
programmed non-scheduled air services and

that  air  carrier  can  demonstrate  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  coordinator  that  the
-
series  of slots  in  question  has  been  operated,  as  cleared  by  the  coordinator,  by  that  air
carrier for at least 80% of the time during  the scheduling  period  for  which  it  has  been
allocated.

In such case that series of slots shall entitle the air carrier concerned to the same series of
slots in the next equivalent scheduling period.

Without  prejudice  to  Article  9  of  this  Regulation  and  the  relevant  provisions  of
Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92, Member States may limit such entitlement to series of
slots operated with a minimum aircraft size.

Without  prejudice  to  Article  10  (2),  in  a  situation  where  all  slot  requests  cannot  be
accommodated to the satisfaction of the air carriers concerned, preference shall be given
to commercial air services and in particular to scheduled services and programmed non-
scheduled  air  services.  In  the  case  of  competing  requests  within  the  same  category  of
services, priority shall be given for year round operations.

Re-timing of series of slots before the allocation of the remaining slots from the pool
referred  to  in  Article  10  to  the  other  applicant  air  carriers  shall  be  accepted  only  for
operational reasons due to changes in the type of aircraft used or route operated, or if
slot timings of applicant air carriers would be improved in relation to the timings
initially  requested.  It  shall  not  take  effect  prior  to  the  express  confirmation  by  the
coordinator.

The coordinator shall  also take  into  account additional rules  and guidelines established
by  the  air  transport  industry  world-wide  and  Community-wide  as  well  as  local
guidelines proposed by the Coordination Committee and approved by the Member State
responsible  for  the  airport  in  question,  provided  that  such  rules  and  guidelines  do  not
affect the independent status of the coordinator, comply with Community law and aim at
improving  the  efficient  use  of  airport  capacity.  These  rules  shall  be  communicated  by
that Member State to the European Commission.

15

6.

7.

8.

In situations where Article 9 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92 is applicable, the
coordinator shall not give priority to requests of air carriers intending to use the series of
slots concerned for routes where satisfactory service by other means of transport exists.

If a requested slot cannot be accommodated, the coordinator shall inform the requesting
air carrier of the reasons therefor and shall indicate the nearest available alternative slot.

The coordinator shall, in addition to the planned slot allocation for the scheduling period,
endeavour to accommodate single slot requests with short notice for any type of aviation,
including general aviation. To this end, remaining slots in the pool referred to in Article
10 after distribution among the applicant carriers and slots available at short notice may
be used.

Article 8a

Slot mobility

1.

Slots may be:

a)

b)

c)

d)

transferred by an air carrier from one route or type of service to another route or
type of service operated by that same air carrier,

transferred

i) between parent and subsidiary companies, and between subsidiaries of the
same parent company,

ii) as part of the acquisition of the majority of the capital of an air carrier,

iii) in the case of a total or partial take-over when the slots are directly related
to the business taken over.

transferred  between  air  carriers  in  accordance  with  decision  taken  by  public
authorities pursuant to Articles 81 or 82 of the EC treaty or Regulation 4064/89;

exchanged, one for one, between two air carriers where both air carriers involved
undertake to use the slots received in the exchange.

2.

3.

Slots cannot be transferred in any  way  between  air  carriers or  between  air carriers and
other  entities  with  or  without  monetary  compensation  other  than  between  those  air
carriers referred to in Article 8a(1) (b).

The  transfers  or  exchanges  referred  to  in  paragraphs  1  above  shall  be  notified  to  the
coordinator and shall not take effect prior to the express confirmation by the coordinator.
The  coordinator  shall  decline  to  confirm  the  transfers  or  exchanges  if  they  are  not  in
conformity with the requirements of this Regulation, and if not satisfied that:

(a)

(b)

(c)

airport  operations  would  not  be  prejudiced  taking  into  account  all  technical,
operational and environmental constraints;

limitations imposed according to Article 9 are respected;

a transfer of slots does not fall within the scope of paragraph 4;

16

(d)

in the case of exchanges between two air carriers referred to in paragraph 1, both
carriers  intend  to  operate  the  slots  resulting  from  the  exchange  or  from  the
subsequent exchanges.

4. (a) Slots  allocated  to  a  new  entrant  as  defined  in  Article  2  (b)  may  not  be  transferred  as

provided for in paragraph 1(b) for a period of three two equivalent scheduling periods.

   (b)

   (c)

Slots  allocated  to  a  new  entrant  as  defined  in  Article  2  (b)  (ii)  and  (iii)  may  not  be
transferred to another route as provided for in paragraph 1(a) for a period of three two
equivalent scheduling periods, unless the new entrant would have been entitled to be
treated with the same priority on the new route as on the operated route.

Slots  allocated  to  a  new  entrant  as  defined  in  Article  2(b)  may  not  be  exchanged  as
provided for in paragraph 1(d) for a period of three two equivalent scheduling periods,
except in order to improve the slot timings for these services in relation to the timings
initially requested.

Article 8bis

Exclusion of compensation claims

The entitlement to series of slots referred to in Article 8(2), shall not give rise to any claims
for compensation in respect of any limitation, restriction or elimination thereof imposed under
Community law, in particular in application of the rules of the Treaty relating to air transport.

The present Regulation shall not affect the powers of public authorities to require the transfer of
slots between air carriers without monetary compensation pursuant to Articles 81 or 82 of the EC
Treaty or Regulation 4064/89.

Article 9

Public Service Obligations

1.

2.

Where public service obligations have been imposed on a route according to Article 4 of
Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  2408/92,  a  Member  State  may  reserve  at  a  coordinated
airport the slots required for the envisaged operations on that route. If the carrier does not
use the reserved slots on the route concerned in compliance with Article 8 (2) and 8 (4),
these slots shall be made available to any other air carrier interested in operating the route
according to the public service obligations subject to paragraph 2. If no other carrier is
interested in operating the route and the Member State concerned does not issue a call for
tender under Article 4 (1) d of Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92, the slots shall be returned
to the pool.

The tender procedure established in Article  4 (1)  (d) to  (g)  and  4  (1)  (i)  of Regulation
(EEC)  No  2408/92  shall  be  applied  for  the  use  of  the  slots  referred  to  in  paragraph  1
above if more than one Community air carrier is interested in servicing the route and has
not been able to obtain slots within one hour before or after the times requested from the
coordinator.’

17

(6)

Paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8 of Article 10 are replaced by the following:

Article 10

Slot pool

1.

2.

3.

4.

The coordinator shall set up a pool, which shall contain all the slots not allocated on the
basis of Article 8(2) and 8(4). All new slot capacity determined pursuant to Article 3 (3)
will be placed in the pool.

A series of slots that has been allocated to an air carrier for the operation of scheduled or
programmed non-scheduled air services shall not entitle that air carrier to the same series
of slots in the next equivalent scheduling period, if the air carrier cannot demonstrate to
the  satisfaction  of  the  coordinator  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.

Slots allocated to an air carrier before 31 January for  the  following summer season, or
before  31  August  for  the  following  winter  season,  but  which  are  returned  to  the
coordinator  for  reallocation  before  those  dates  shall  not  be  taken  into  account  for  the
purposes of the usage calculation.

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-utilisation 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:

-

-

-

grounding of the aircraft type generally used for the air service in question;

closure of an airport or airspace;

serious  disturbanceof  at  least  50%  of  all  the  operations  at  the  airport
concerned during the relevant scheduling period

an  interruption  of  air  services  due  to  action  intended  to  affect  these  services,
(b) 
which makes it practically and/or  technically impossible for  the  air  carrier  to  carry  out
operations as planned;

serious financial damage for a Community air carrier concerned, with, as a result,
(c) 
the  granting  of  a  temporary  license  by  the  licensing  authorities  pending  financial
reorganisation of the air carrier in accordance with Article 5(5) of Regulation (EEC) No
2407/92.

5.

At  the  request  of  a  Member  State  or  on  its  own  initiative  the  Commission  shall
examinethe  application  of  paragraph  4  by  the  coordinator  of  an  airport  falling
within the scope of this Regulation;

It  shall  take  a  decision  within  two  months  of  receipt  of  a  request  and  after
consulting the Committee referred to in Article 13.

18

6.

7.

8.

(7)

(8)

1.

2.

Without prejudice to Article 8(2) of this Regulation and without prejudice to Article 8(1)
of  Regulation  (EEC)  No  2408/92,  slots  placed  in  the  pool  shall  be  distributed  among
applicant air carriers. 50 % of these slots shall first be allocated to new entrants unless
requests  by  new  entrants  are  less  than  50%.  For  the  purpose  of  such  allocation,  the
scheduling  day  shall  be  divided  into  equal  coordination  periods  of  at  most  one-hour
duration.

Preference shall be given among requests from new entrants to air carriers qualifying for
new entrant status under both Article 2 (b) (i) and (ii) or Article 2 (b) (i) and (iii).

A new entrant which has been offered a series of slots within one hour before or after the
time requested but has not accepted this offer shall not retain the new entrant status for
that scheduling period.

In the case of services operated by a group of air carriers, only one of the participating
air  carriers  can  apply  for  the  required  slots.  The  air  carrier  operating  such  a  service
assumes  responsibility  for  meeting  the  operating  criteria  required  to  maintain
historical precedence referred to in Article 8(2).

Slots  allocated  to  one  air  carrier  in  the  operation  may  be  used  by  (an)other
participating air carrier(s) for their shared operation, provided that the designator code
of  the  air  carrier  to  whom  the  slots  were  allocated  remains  on  the  shared  flight  for
coordination  and  monitoring  purposes.  Upon  discontinuation  of  such  operations,  the
slots so used will remain with the air carrier to whom they were initially allocated. Air
carriers  involved  in  shared  operations  shall  advise  coordinators  of  the  detail  of  such
operations.

Paragraph 6 of Article 10 becomes new paragraph 8 9.

Article 11 is replaced by the following:

Article 11

Complaints and Right of appeal

Complaints regarding the application of Articles 8, 8a, and 10 shall be submitted to the
Coordination  Committee.  It  shall  within  a  period  of  three  one  months  following  the
submission  of the  complaint  consider  the  matter  and if  possible  make proposals  to  the
coordinator in an attempt to resolve the problems. If the complaints cannot be settled, the
Member  State  responsible  may  within  the  subsequent  three-month  period  provide  for
mediation by an air carriers' or airports’ representative organisation or other third party.

Member States shall ensure that, any party  with a legitimate interest has  the right to
appeal  against  the  decisions  of  the  coordinator  before  a  national  court  or  another
independent  authority,  when  the  mediation  procedure  provided  under  paragraph  (1)
has failed.

19

Member States shall ensure that the appellate body has the powers to:

a)

b)

c)

take,  at  the  earliest  opportunity  and  by  way  of  interlocutory  procedures,
interim  measures  with  the  aim  of  correcting  the  alleged  infringement  or
preventing  further  damage  to  the  interests  concerned,  including  measures  to
suspend or to ensure the suspension of the procedure for the allocation of slots
or the implementation of any decision taken by the coordinator,

set aside or ensure the setting aside of decisions taken unlawfully,

award damages.

For  the  purpose  of  application  of  point  (c)  of    the  second  subparagraph,
coordinators  shall  be  exempt  from  claims  for  damages,  save  in  cases  of  gross
negligence or wilful misconduct.

Member  States  shall  ensure  that  the  review  procedures  are  available,  under  detailed
rules, which the Member States may establish, at least to any person having or having
had an interest in slot allocation procedures and who has been or risks being harmed
by an alleged infringement.

If legal action has been taken pursuant to this paragraph, application of paragraph 1 of
this Article shall immediately cease.

(9)

The title of Article 12 and paragraph 1 are replaced by the following:

‘Relations with third countries

‘1.

Whenever it appears that a third country, with respect to the allocation and use of slots at
its airports,

does  not  grant Community  air  carriers  treatment  comparable  to  that  granted  by

(a)
this Regulation to air carriers from that country, or

(b)

(c)

does not grant Community air carriers de facto national treatment, or

grants  air  carriers  from  other  third  countries  more  favourable  treatment  than
Community air carriers,

the Commission may, in accordance with the procedure of Article 13 (2), decide that a
Member State or States shall take measures, including the suspension in whole or in part
of the application of this Regulation in respect of an air carrier or air carriers of that third
country  with  a  view  to  remedying  the  discriminatory  behaviour  of  the  third  country
involved.’

20

(10) Articles 13 and 14 are replaced by the following:

‘Article 13

Procedure for decisions

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

When deciding pursuant to Articles 3 (3) and 12, the Commission shall be assisted by
a committee, composed of the representatives of the Member States and chaired by the
representative of the Commission.

Where  reference  is  made  to  this  paragraph,  the  regulatory  procedure  laid  down  in
Article 5 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, in compliance with Article 7 (3) and
Article 8 thereof.

The  period  provided  for  in  Article  5(6)  of  Decision  1999/468/EC  shall  be  three
months.

The Committee may furthermore be consulted by the Commission on any other matter
concerning the application of this Regulation.

The Committee shall establish its own rules of procedure.

Article 14

Enforcement

An air carrier’s flight plan shall be rejected by the competent Air Traffic Management
authorities, if it intends to land or take off at a coordinated airport, during the periods
for  which  it  is  coordinated,  without  having  a  slot  allocated  by  the  coordinator.
Allowance shall be made for the necessary taxiing time required at the airport.

The coordinator shall withdraw the series of slots of an air carrier and place them in the
pool on 31 January for the following summer season or on 31 August for the following
winter season if the air carrier does not hold an operating licence or equivalent on that
date.

The coordinator shall withdraw and place in the pool the series of slots of an air carrier,
which it has received following a transfer or exchange pursuant to Article 8a(3) if they
have not been used as intended according to Article 8a(3)(d).

Air carriers who repeatedly and intentionally operate air services at a time significantly
different from the allocated slot as part of a series of slots shall lose  the status referred to
in Article 8 (2). The coordinator may decide to withdraw the series of slots in question of
that air carrier for the remainder of the scheduling period and place them in the pool after
having heard the air carrier concerned and issued a formal warning.

After  having  given  a  formal  warning,  Member  States  shall  introduce  measures  to
impose,  fines  and/or  periodic  penalty  payments  on  air  carriers  for  the  repeated  and
intentional operation of air services at times significantly different from the allocated
slots., or for the use of a slot in a manner other than that indicated at the time of
allocation.

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In setting the amount of the fine and/or periodic penalty payments regard shall be had
to  the  nature  and  gravity  of  the  infringement  after  having  heard  the  air  carrier
concerned.

6. (a) Without prejudice to Article 10(4), if the 80% utilisation rate as defined in Article 8(2)
cannot be achieved by an air carrier, the coordinator may decide to withdraw that series
of slots of that air carrier for the remainder of the scheduling period and place them in the
pool after having heard the air carrier concerned.

    (b) Without prejudice to Article 10(4), if after an allotted time corresponding to 20% of the
period of the series validity no slots of that series of slots have been used, the coordinator
shall place the series of slots in question in the pool for the remainder of the scheduling
period after having heard the air carrier concerned.’

(11) Article 15 is added:

‘Article 15

Report and co-operation

1.

2.

The Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the
operation of this Regulation at the latest three years after its entry into force. The report
shall address in particular the functioning of Articles 8, 8a and 10.

Member  States  and  the  Commission  shall  co-operate  in  the  application  of  this
Regulation, particularly as regards the collection of information for the report mentioned
in paragraph 1.’

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force three months after its publication in the Official Journal of
the European Communities.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels,

For the European Parliament
The President

For the Council
The President

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