Common Position (EC) No 22/2004 of 19 February 2004 adopted by the Council, acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, with a view to adopting a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 95/93 on common rules for the allocation of slots at Community airports
Date: 2004-02-19
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: airport, common transport policy, transport capacity, transport planning

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Official Journal of the European Union

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COMMON POSITION (EC) No 22/2004

adopted by the Council on 19 February 2004

with a view to adopting Regulation (EC) No . . ./2004 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of . . . on common rules for the allocation of slots at Community airports

(2004/C 95 E/03)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

not be subject to slot allocation rules where these are
not necessary.

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

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and
Social Committee (2),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
251 of the Treaty (3),

Whereas:

(1)

Following the conclusions of the European Council held in
Stockholm on 23 and 24 March 2001, this Regulation
step in a comprehensive revision
constitutes a first
process.
in
particular with respect to new entrants and market-access
issues, this Regulation should be reviewed after a fixed
period of operation.

In order to keep abreast of developments,

(2) Experience has

shown that Council Regulation (EEC)
No 95/93 (4) should be strengthened to ensure the fullest
and most flexible use of
limited capacity at congested
airports.

(3)

(4)

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

is desirable to follow international

It
terminology and
therefore to use the terms ‘schedules-facilitated airport’
instead of ‘coordinated airport’
and ‘coordinated airport’
and ‘fully coordinated airport’, respectively.

(5) Airports with a serious shortfall

in capacity should be
designated as
‘coordinated airports’ on the basis of
objective criteria, after a capacity analysis has been
conducted. At coordinated airports detailed rules are
required to ensure that
transparency,
neutrality and non-discrimination are fully adhered to.
Specific activities such as helicopter operations should

the principles of

(6) At schedules-facilitated airports the schedules facilitator
should act
in an independent manner. At coordinated
airports the coordinator plays a central role in the coor-
dinating process. Therefore, coordinators should be in a
fully independent position and their responsibilities should
be specified in detail.

(7)

(8)

It is necessary to specify in detail the role of the coor-
dination committee which is established to advise and
mediate in relation to slot allocation. Member State
representatives should be invited to meetings of the coor-
dination committee as observers without voting rights.
Such observer status should be without prejudice to the
possibility that such representatives could chair committee
meetings. It is important to ensure that the coordination
committee has no power to take decisions that would be
binding on the coordinator.

It
is also necessary to make clear that slot allocation
should be considered as giving air carriers permission to
access the airport facilities for landing and taking off at
specific dates and times for the duration of the period for
which the permission is granted. The need to develop rules
and procedures for coordinating airport and airway slots
should be examined.

(9) 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. In order to encourage regular
is necessary to
operations at coordinated airports
provide that grandfather rights relate to series of slots.
At the same time, Member States should, when defining
capacity parameters, be able to take account of operational
and environmental constraints.

it

(1) OJ C 270 E, 25.9.2001, p. 131 and OJ C . . .
(2) OJ C 125, 27.5.2002, p. 8.
(3) Opinion of the European Parliament of 11 June 2002 (OJ C 261 E,
30.10.2003, p. 116), Council common position of 19 February
2004 and position of the European Parliament of . . .
(not yet
published in the Official Journal).

(4) OJ L 14, 22.1.1993, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation
(EC) No 1554/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council
(OJ L 221, 4.9.2003, p. 1).

(10) Slots with historical precedence should comply with the
relevant
usage calculation as well as with all other
provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 95/93 so that air
carriers can continue to claim these slots in the next
equivalent scheduling period. The situation of grandfather
rights in the case of
joint operations, code-share or
franchise agreements should be clarified.

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(11) Regular services at airports should be given priority, which
distinction

should be
between scheduled and non-scheduled services.

strictly without

administered

specific date and time for the purpose of landing
or
in
take-off as allocated by a coordinator,
accordance with this Regulation;

(12) The definition of the term ‘new entrant’ should be such as
to strengthen the provision of adequate air services to
regions and to increase potential competition on intra-
Community routes.

(b) “new entrant” shall mean:

(13) In order better to ensure that, amongst other things, third
countries grant Community carriers comparable treatment,
a
the
Community more efficiently to take action against third
countries which do not grant treatment comparable to
that granted in the Community.

established

procedure

enabling

should

be

(14) The measures necessary for the implementation of this
adopted in accordance with
Regulation should be
Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying
down the procedures for the exercise of implementing
powers conferred on the Commission (1).

(15) At coordinated airports, access for an air carrier is only
possible if a slot has been allocated. Measures should be
introduced to guarantee the enforcement of this Regu-
lation, in particular when air carriers repeatedly and inten-
tionally fail to comply with the slot-allocation rules.

(16) There should be a procedure to review decisions taken by

the coordinator.

(17) For the avoidance of doubt, it should be specified that the
application of the provisions of this Regulation is to be
without prejudice to the competition rules of the Treaty,
in particular Articles 81 and 82 thereof and Council Regu-
lation (EEC) No 4064/89 of 21 December 1989 on the
control of concentrations between undertakings (2),

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

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

1. Article 1(1) is replaced by the following:

‘1.

This Regulation shall apply to Community airports.’

2. Article 2 is amended as follows:

(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 air
carrier's request were accepted, the air carrier
would nonetheless hold fewer than five slots
at that airport on that day for that non-stop
service, or

(iii) an air carrier requesting a series of slots at an
airport
for a non-stop scheduled passenger
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,
request were
if
the air carrier would nonetheless
accepted,
hold fewer than five slots at that airport on
that day for that non-stop service.

carrier's

the

air

An air carrier holding more than 5 % of the total
slots available on the day in question at a
particular airport, or more than 4 % of the total
slots available on the day in question in an airport
system of which that airport forms part, shall not
be considered as a new entrant at that airport.’;

(b) points (f) and (g) are replaced by the following:

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

‘(f)

‘(a) “slot” shall mean the permission given by a coor-
dinator in accordance with this Regulation to use
the full range of airport infrastructure necessary to
operate an air service at a coordinated airport on a

(1) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.
(2) OJ L 395, 30.12.1989, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 1310/97 (OJ L 180, 9.7.1997, p. 1).

(i) “air carrier” shall mean an air transport under-
taking 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, 8, 8a and 10, the definition of air
carrier
shall also include business aviation
operators, when they operate according to a
schedule; for the purposes of Articles 7 and
14,
shall also
include all civil aircraft operators;

the definition of air carrier

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(ii) “group of air carriers” shall mean two or more
carriers which together perform joint
code-
franchise operations or
a

the purpose of operating

air
operations,
sharing
specific air service;

for

(g) “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, with the
exception of State flights, emergency landings and
humanitarian flights;’;

‘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) in Paragraph 2 the term ‘coordinated airport’

is

replaced by ‘schedules-facilitated airport’;

(c) the following points are added:

(c) paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:

‘(i)

airport”

“schedules-facilitated
shall mean an
airport where there is potential for congestion
at some periods of the day, week or year which
is amenable to resolution by voluntary coop-
eration between air
a
schedules
facilitator has been appointed to
facilitate the operations of air carriers operating
services or intending to operate services at that
airport;

and where

carriers

(j) “managing body of an airport” shall mean the body
which,
in conjunction with other activities or
otherwise, has the task under national laws or regu-
lations of administering and managing the airport
and coordinating and controlling the
facilities
activities of the various operators present at the
airport or within the airport system concerned;

(k) “series of slots” shall mean at least five slots having
been requested for the same time on the same day
of the week regularly in the same scheduling period
and allocated in that way or, if that is not possible,
allocated at approximately the same time;

(l) “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,
where the aircraft are flown for purposes generally
considered not for public hire and are piloted by
individuals having,
valid
commercial pilot license with an instrument rating;

a minimum,

at

a

(m) “coordination

parameters”

shall mean

the
expression in operational terms of all the capacity
available for slot allocation at an airport during
each coordination period, reflecting all
technical,
operational and environmental
factors that affect
the performance of the airport infrastructure and
its different subsystems.’

3. Article 3 is amended as follows:

(a) paragraph 1 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 or by any
other
competent body when that Member State
considers it necessary, or within six months:

(i) following a written request from air carriers repre-
senting more than half of the operations at an
airport or from the managing body of the airport
when either considers that capacity is insufficient
for actual or planned operations at certain periods,
or

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

the airport

such shortfall

This analysis, based on commonly recognised methods,
shall determine any shortfall in capacity, taking into
account environmental constraints at
in
question. The analysis shall consider the possibilities
of overcoming
through new or
modified infrastructure, operational changes, or any
other change, and the time frame envisaged to
resolve the problems. It shall be updated if paragraph
5 has been invoked, or when there are changes at the
airport
and
significantly
capacity usage. 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.’;

influencing

capacity

its

(d) paragraph 4 is replaced by the following paragraphs:

On the basis of the analysis, the Member State
‘4.
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 organi-
sations, representatives of general aviation using the
airport regularly and air traffic control authorities.

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5. Where capacity problems occur for at least one
scheduling period, the Member State shall ensure that
the airport is designated as coordinated for the relevant
periods only if:

The schedules facilitator shall advise air carriers
4.
and recommend alternative arrival and/or departure
times when congestion is likely to occur.

(a) the shortfall

significant delays
airport, and

is of such a serious nature that
the

avoided at

cannot be

(b) there

are no possibilities of

resolving these

problems in the short term.

6.
By way of derogation from paragraph 5, Member
States may, in exceptional circumstances, designate as
coordinated the airports affected for the appropriate
period.’;

(e) the present paragraph 5 becomes paragraph 7 and the
is replaced by ‘coor-

term ‘fully coordinated airport’
dinated airport’.

4. Article 4 is amended as follows:

(a) the title is replaced by the following:

‘The schedules

facilitator and the coordinator’;

(b) paragraphs 1 to 6 are replaced by the following:

facilitator

The Member State responsible for a schedules-
‘1.
facilitated or coordinated airport
shall ensure the
appointment of a qualified natural or legal person as
schedules
coordinator,
or
respectively, after having consulted the air carriers
using the airport regularly, their representative organi-
sations and the managing body of the airport and the
coordination committee, where such a committee
exists. The same schedules facilitator or coordinator
may be appointed for more than one airport.

airport

The Member State responsible for a schedules-

2.
facilitated or coordinated airport shall ensure:

(a) that at a schedules-facilitated airport, the schedules
facilitator acts pursuant to this Regulation in an
independent, neutral, non-discriminatory and trans-
parent manner;

(b) the independence of the coordinator at a coor-
dinated airport by separating the coordinator func-
tionally from any single interested party. The
system of
financing the coordinators' activities
shall be such as to guarantee the coordinator's
independent status;

(c) that the coordinator acts according to this Regu-
lation in a neutral, non-discriminatory and trans-
parent way.

The schedules facilitator and the coordinator
scheduling
in such international
are permitted by

3.
shall participate
conferences of air
Community law.

carriers

as

the

The

shall be

coordinator

sole person
5.
responsible for the allocation of slots. He/she shall
allocate the slots in accordance with the provisions
of this Regulation and shall make provision so that,
in an emergency, slots can also be allocated outside
office hours.

shall monitor

schedules
air

facilitator
the
6.
The
carriers' operations with the
conformity of
schedules recommended to them. The coordinator
shall monitor the conformity of air carriers' operations
with the slots allocated to them. These conformity
checks shall be carried out in cooperation with the
managing body of the airport and with the air traffic
control authorities and shall take into account the time
and other relevant parameters relating to the airport
concerned. The coordinator shall submit on request to
the Member States concerned and to the Commission
an annual activity report, concerning, in particular, the
application of Articles 8a and 14, as well as on any
complaints regarding the application of Articles 8 and
10 submitted to the coordination committee and the
steps taken to resolve them.

All schedules facilitators and coordinators shall

7.
cooperate to detect inconsistencies in schedules.’;

(c) the present paragraph 7 becomes paragraph 8 and the
introductory wording is replaced by the following:

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

(d) the present paragraph 8 becomes paragraph 9 and is

replaced by the following:

The information referred to in paragraph 8 shall
‘9.
be made available at
the time of the
the latest at
relevant scheduling conferences and as appropriate
during the conferences and thereafter. On request,
the coordinator shall provide such information in a
summarised format. A cost-related fee may be
charged for
such summarised
information.’;

the provision of

(e) the following paragraph is added:

relevant

and
information standards are available,
facilitator,

accepted
‘10. Where
the
schedules
schedules
the coordinator and the air
carriers shall apply them provided that they comply
with Community law.’

generally

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5. Articles 5 to 9 are replaced by the following:

‘Article 5

Coordination committee

a

At

same

airport,

coordinated

the Member

1.
State
responsible shall ensure that a coordination committee is
coordination committee may be
set up. The
designated for more than one airport. Membership of
this committee shall be open at least to the air carriers
in question regularly and their
using the airport(s)
representative organisations,
the
the managing body of
airport concerned, the relevant air traffic control auth-
orities and the representatives of general aviation using
the airport regularly.

The tasks of the coordination committee shall be:

(a) to make proposals concerning or advise the coor-

dinator and/or the Member State on:

— the possibilities for increasing the capacity of the
airport determined in accordance with Article 3 or
for improving its usage,

the request of

the coordinator,

the coordination
At
committee shall discuss suggested local guidelines for the
allocation of slots as well as those suggested for the moni-
the
toring of
shall be
discussions
submitted to the Member State concerned with an indi-
cation of
stated within the
committee.

the use of allocated slots. A report of

the respective positions

coordination committee

in the

Article 6

Coordination parameters

At

coordinated
ensure
shall

State
1.
a
responsible
the
parameters for slot allocation twice yearly, while taking
account of all relevant technical, operational and environ-
mental constraints as well as any changes thereto.

the Member
determination of

airport
the

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 likely to occur during the coordination
period and the capacity situation.

— the coordination parameters to be determined in

accordance with Article 6,

The parameters shall be communicated to the airport coor-
dinator in good time before the initial slot allocation takes
place for the purpose of scheduling conferences.

— the methods of monitoring the use of allocated

slots,

— local guidelines for the allocation of slots or the
the use of allocated slots, taking
inter alia, possible environmental

monitoring of
into account,
concerns, as provided for in Article 8(5),

— improvements to traffic conditions prevailing at the

airport in question,

— serious problems encountered by new entrants, as

provided for in Article 10(9),

— all questions relating to the capacity of the airport;

(b) to mediate

between

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

concerned

parties

2. 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
3.
inter alia, participation,
rules of procedure
elections,
the frequency of meetings, and language(s)
used. Any member of the coordination committee may
propose local guidelines as provided for in Article 8(5).

covering,

For

the purpose of

2.
the exercise referred to in
paragraph 1, where the Member State does not do so,
the coordinator shall define relevant coordination time
intervals after consultation of the coordination committee
and in conformity with the established capacity.

the parameters

The determination of

and the
3.
methodology used, as well as any changes thereto, shall
be discussed in detail within the coordination committee
with a view to increasing the capacity and number of slots
available for allocation, before a final decision on the
relevant
parameters
documents shall be made available on request to interested
parties.

slot allocation is

taken. All

for

Article 7

Information for schedules facilitators and coordinators

Air carriers operating or intending to operate at a
1.
schedules-facilitated or coordinated airport shall submit to
the schedules facilitator or coordinator respectively all
relevant
relevant
information requested by them. All
information shall be provided in the format and within
the time-limit specified by the schedules facilitator or coor-
dinator. In particular, an air carrier shall inform the coor-
dinator, at the time of the request for allocation, whether it
would benefit
in
accordance with Article 2(b), in respect of requested slots.

status of new entrant,

from the

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C 95 E/21

For all other airports with no particular designation status,
the managing body of the airport shall provide, when
requested by a coordinator, any information in its
possession about the planned services of air carriers.

that mitigating

2. Where an air carrier fails to provide the information
referred to in paragraph 1 unless it can satisfactorily
demonstrate
exist, or
provides false or misleading information, the coordinator
shall not
request or
take into consideration the slot
requests by that air carrier to which the missing, false or
misleading information relates. The coordinator shall give
that air carrier the opportunity to submit its observations.

circumstances

The schedules facilitator or

3.
the
managing body of the airport and the air traffic control
authorities shall exchange all the information they require
for the exercise of their respective duties, including flight
data and slots.

the coordinator,

Article 8

Process of slot allocation

1.
Series of slots are allocated from the slot pool to
applicant carriers as permissions to use the airport infra-
structure for the purpose of landing or 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.

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

— a series of slots has been used by an air carrier for the
operation
programmed
scheduled
of
non-scheduled air services and

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, if requested by that air carrier within
the time limit referred to in Article 7(1).

in a situation
3. Without prejudice to Article 10(2),
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
In the case of competing requests within the
services.

same category of services, priority shall be given for
year-round operations.

4.
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 or if slot timings of applicant air
carriers would be improved in relation to the timings
It shall not take effect prior to the
initially requested.
express confirmation by the coordinator.

shall

also take

coordinator
into account
5.
The
rules and guidelines established by the air
additional
transport
industry worldwide or Community-wide, as
well as local guidelines proposed by the coordination
committee and approved by the Member State or any
other competent body responsible for
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 the Member State in question to the Commission.

the airport

6.
If a requested slot cannot be accommodated, the
coordinator shall inform the requesting air carrier of the
indicate the nearest available
reasons therefor and shall
alternative slot.

7.
The coordinator shall, in addition to the planned slot
allocation for the scheduling period, endeavour to accom-
modate single-slot requests at short notice for any type of
aviation,
including general aviation. To this end, slots
remaining in the pool referred to in Article 10 after
distribution among the
and slots
available at short notice may be used.

applicant

carriers

Article 8a

Slot mobility

1.

Slots may be:

(a) 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;

(b) transferred

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

(ii) as part of

the acquisition of control over the

capital of an air carrier;

(iii) in the case of a total or partial takeover when the
slots are directly related to the air carrier taken
over;

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Official Journal of the European Union

20.4.2004

(c) exchanged, one for one, between air carriers.

between undertakings (*). These transfers can only take
place without monetary compensation.

2.
The transfers or exchanges referred to in paragraph 1
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
in conformity with the
requirements of this Regulation and if the coordinator is
not satisfied that:

they are not

if

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

(b) limitations
respected;

imposed according

to Article 9 are

(c) a transfer of slots does not fall within the scope of

paragraph 3.

3. (a) Slots allocated to a new entrant as defined in Article
2(b) may not be transferred as provided for in
paragraph 1(b) of this Article for a period of two
equivalent scheduling periods, except in the case of
a legally authorised takeover of the activities of a
bankrupt undertaking.

(b) 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) of
this
Article for a period of two equivalent scheduling
periods unless the new entrant would have been
treated with the same priority on the new route
as on the initial route.

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

these services

timings

for

Article 9

Public service obligations

required for
If

1. Where public service obligations have been imposed
on a route in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation
(EEC) No 2408/92, a Member State may reserve at a coor-
the operations
dinated airport
the slots
the reserved slots on the
envisaged on that route.
route concerned are not used,
they shall be made
available to any other air carrier interested in operating
the route in accordance with 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 tenders pursuant to Article 4(1)(d) of
Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92, the slots shall either be
reserved for another route subject to public service obli-
gations or be returned to the pool.

2.
The tender procedure established in Article 4(1)(d) to
(g) and (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
serving the route and has not been able to obtain slots
within one hour before or after the times requested from
the coordinator.

___________
(*) OJ L 395, 30.12.1989, p. 1. Regulation as

last
amended by Regulation (EC) No 1310/97 (OJ L 180,
9.7.1997, p. 1).’

6. Article 10 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 10

Slot pool

Article 8b

Exclusion of compensation claims

The coordinator shall set up a pool, which shall
1.
contain all the slots not allocated on the basis of Article
8(2) and (4). All new slot capacity determined pursuant to
Article 3(3) shall be placed in the pool.

the rules of

restriction or

The entitlement to series of slots referred to in Article 8(2),
shall not give rise to any claims for compensation in
elimination
respect of
any limitation,
thereof imposed under Community law,
in particular in
application of
the Treaty relating to air
transport. This Regulation shall not affect the powers of
public authorities to require the transfer of slots between
air carriers and to direct how these are allocated pursuant
to national competition law or to Articles 81 or 82 of the
Treaty or Council Regulation (EEC) No 4064/89 of
21 December 1989 on the control of concentrations

2.
A series of slots that has been allocated to an air
carrier for the operation of a scheduled or a programmed
non-scheduled air service 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 satis-
faction 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 scheduling period for which
they have been allocated.

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Slots allocated to an air carrier before 31 January for
3.
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 calcu-
lation.

4.
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 unavoidable circumstances 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 disturbance of operations at the airports
concerned, including those series of slots at other
Community airports related to routes which have
been affected by such disturbance, during a
substantial part of the relevant scheduling period;

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

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

licensing

the

by

(d) judicial proceedings concerning the application of
Article 9 for routes where public service obligations
have been imposed according to Article 4 of Regu-
lation (EEC) No 2408/92, resulting in the temporary
suspension of the operation of such routes.

At the request of a Member State or on its own
5.
initiative the Commission shall examine the 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 the
request in accordance with the procedure referred to in
Article 13(2).

6. 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 %. The coordinator shall treat
the requests of new entrants and other carriers fairly, in
accordance with the coordination periods of each sche-
duling day.

Among requests from new entrants, preference shall be
given to air carriers qualifying for new entrant status
pursuant to Article 2(b)(i) and (ii) or Article 2(b)(i) and (iii).

7.
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 its new
entrant status for that scheduling period.

In the case of services operated by a group of air
8.
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
precedence
required
referred to in Article 8(2).

to maintain

historical

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

If

9.
for new
serious problems continue to exist
entrants, the Member State shall ensure that a meeting
of the airport coordination committee is convened. The
purpose of the meeting shall be to examine possibilities
for remedying the situation. The Commission shall be
invited to that meeting.’

7. Article 11 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 11

Complaints and rights of appeal

1. Without prejudice to rights of appeal under national
law, complaints regarding the application of Articles 7(2),
8, 8a, 10 and 14(1) to (4) and (6) shall be submitted to the
coordination committee. The committee shall, within a
period of one month following submission of
the
the matter and if possible make
complaint, consider
proposals to the coordinator in an attempt to resolve the
problem. If the complaint cannot be settled, the Member
State responsible may, within a further two-month period,
provide for mediation by an air carriers' or airports'
representative organisation or other third party.

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in
2. Member States shall take appropriate measures,
to protect coordinators
accordance with national
with regard to claims
relating to their
functions in accordance with this Regulation, save in
cases of gross negligence or wilful misconduct.’

for damages

law,

8. In Article 12, the title and paragraph 1 are replaced by the

following:

‘Relations with third countries

1. Whenever it appears that, with respect to the allo-
cation and use of slots at its airports, a third country:

(a) does not grant Community air carriers

treatment
comparable to that granted by this Regulation to air
carriers from that country, or

(b) does not grant Community air carriers de facto

national treatment, or

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

States

the Commission may, in accordance with the procedure
referred to in Article 13(2), decide that a Member State or
Member
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 concerned.’

take measures,

including

shall

9. Articles 13 and 14 are replaced by the following:

‘Article 13

Committee procedure

1.

The Commission shall be assisted by a committee.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5
and 7 of Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999
laying
of
implementing powers conferred to the Commission (*)
shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8
thereof.

down the procedures

exercise

the

for

The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision
1999/468/EC shall be set at three months.

The committee may also be consulted by the
3.
Commission on any other matter concerning application
of this Regulation.

4.

The committee shall adopt its Rules of Procedure.

Article 14

Enforcement

1.
An air carrier's flight plan may be rejected by the
competent air traffic management authorities if the air
carrier
take off at a coordinated
airport, during the periods for which it is coordinated,
without having a slot allocated by the coordinator.

intends to land or

2.
The coordinator shall withdraw the series of slots
provisionally allocated to an air carrier in the process of
establishing itself 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 undertaking does not hold
an operating licence or equivalent on that date or if it is
not stated by the competent licensing authority that it is
likely that an operating licence or equivalent will be issued
before the relevant scheduling period commences.

3.
The coordinator shall withdraw and place in the pool
the series of slots of an air carrier, which it has received
following an exchange pursuant to Article 8a(1)(c), if they
have not been used as intended.

Air carriers that repeatedly and intentionally operate
4.
air services at a time significantly different
from the
allocated slot as part of a series of slots or uses slots in
a significantly different way from that indicated at the time
of allocation and thereby cause prejudice to airport or air
traffic operations shall lose their status as referred to in
Article 8(2). The coordinator may decide to withdraw from
that air carrier the series of slots in question for the
remainder of the scheduling period and place them in
the pool after having heard the air carrier concerned and
after issuing a single warning.

ensure
that
sanctions or

States
shall
and dissuasive

effective,
5. Member
proportionate
equivalent
measures are available to deal with repeated and inten-
significantly
tional operation of air
different from the allocated slots or with the use of slots
in a significantly different way from that indicated at the
time of allocation, where this causes prejudice to airport or
air traffic operations.

services at

times

6. (a) Without prejudice to Article 10(4),

if

the 80 %
usage rate as defined in Article 8(2) cannot be
achieved by an air carrier,
the coordinator may
decide to withdraw from that air carrier the series
of slots in question for the remainder of the sche-
duling period and place them in the pool after
having heard the air carrier concerned.

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(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
the coordinator shall place the
have been used,
for the
series of slots in question in the pool
remainder of the scheduling period, after having
heard the air carrier concerned.

___________
(*) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.’

10. The following Article is inserted:

‘Article 14a

Report and cooperation

The Commission shall

1.
European Parliament

submit a report
to the
and to 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.

2. Member States and the Commission shall cooperate
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

1.
its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Articles 11(2) and 14(5) of Regulation (EEC) No 95/93

2.
shall apply from . . . (*).

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

Done at . . .

For the European Parliament

The President

For the Council

The President

(*) Fifteen months after the date of publication of this Regulation.

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STATEMENT OF THE COUNCIL'S REASONS

I. INTRODUCTION

1. On 20 June 2001 the Commission adopted a proposal for a Regulation amending Council Regu-
lation (EEC) No 95/93 of 18 January 1993 on common rules for the allocation of slots at
Community airports.

2. The European Parliament adopted its opinion at first reading at its plenary session of 10 to 13 June
2002, whilst the Economic and Social Committee's opinion was adopted on 20 March 2002. The
Committee of the Regions informed the Council that it did not intend to deliver an opinion on this
file.

3. The Commission adopted an amended proposal on 7 November 2002.

4. On 19 February 2004 the Council adopted its common position in accordance with Article 251 of

the Treaty.

II. OBJECTIVE

The Commission proposal sought to improve the current slot regulation in terms of its clarity and
transparency. Particular attention was paid to reinforcing the independent status of the coordinator, and
ensuring that coordination committee was also free from undue influence. A possibility to impose
sanctions was provided for and the division of tasks between the coordinator, coordination committee
and Member State was clarified to ensure the proper handling of complaints.

The proposal also envisaged a number of other improvements and modifications to the existing rules
including a possibility for slot retiming, an explicit prohibition on slot trading and a requirement
regarding slot exchanges that the exchanged slots be used. The Commission considered that the
effect of these changes, taken together, would be broadly neutral regarding the competing interests
of incumbents and new entrants and their ability to obtain and retain slots.

III. ANALYSIS OF THE COMMON POSITION

1. Key changes

The Council accepted the basic objective of the Commission to improve the technical functioning of
the slot allocation system. In this regard the common position, inter alia:

— includes important amendments and additions to the definitions to clarify the terms used in the

regulation,

— provides for a reinforcement of the independent status of the slot coordinator and the coordination

committee,

— provides for sanctions when slots are used in an abusive manner.

Regarding aspects of the Commission proposal that could affect market-access arrangements, the
Council accepted some, but not all, of the changes proposed by the Commission. A broadening of
the definition of ‘new entrant’ was accepted, as well as a provision giving greater priority to new
entrants in the allocation of slots from the ‘slot pool’. However, other provisions proposed by the
Commission, notably on slot exchanges and the prohibition of trading, were not taken on board by the
Council. In not incorporating these provisions, the Council was primarily concerned that the whole
issue of market access should be considered in the wider context of a more thorough revision of the
slot allocation rules, which could be the subject of a separate Commission proposal in the future.

2. Consideration of the European Parliament's first reading opinion

The Council followed to a large degree the concerns underlying the Parliament's first reading opinion.
In total, 32 of the 52 amendments proposed by the Parliament were accepted in full, in part or in
principle. These amendments are the following: 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 29,
30, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 44, 45, 47, 48, 51 and 52.