REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL pursuant to Article 10a (5) of Regulation (EU) 2020/459 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 March 2020 amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 95/93 on common rules for the allocation of slots at Community airports.
Date: 2020-09-14
Institutions: Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission
Subjects: EU restrictive measure, Eurocontrol, air transport, common transport policy, competition, epidemic, infectious disease, transport capacity, transport planning

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 14.9.2020  COM(2020) 558 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL pursuant to Article 10a (5) of Regulation (EU) 2020/459 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 March 2020 amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 95/93 on common rules for the allocation of slots at Community airports.      
 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
1. 
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................... 2 
2.  AN UNPRECEDENTED DOWNTURN IN AIR TRAFFIC ................................. 3 
Reduction in the level of air traffic between 2019 and 2020 (corresponding period)  3 
The reduction in air traffic is due to the outbreak of COVID-19 ...................... 5 
The reduction in air traffic is likely to persist in the foreseeable future ............... 6 
3.  MAINTAINING THE BEST POSSIBLE USE OF AIRPORT CAPACITY ................ 8 
4.  CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................ 9 

a. 
b. 
c. 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
 
 
 
 
1. Introduction 
Since  the  beginning  of  2020,  the  COVID-19  pandemic  has  had  a  profound  negative  impact  on  air 
transport in Europe and worldwide. In June 2020, IATA announced that it expected airlines to suffer 
an  unprecedented  net  loss  of  $83.4  billion  (3.2%  net  margin)  in  2020.1  The  resulting  health 
protection measures  and travel  restrictions introduced by EU Member States and third countries in 
response to the pandemic have heavily depressed consumer demand and confidence which in turn led 
to a record and enduring drop in air traffic in the European Union.2  The number of flights operated 
in European airspace fell by up to 90% in March-April 2020 compared to the same period in 2019.3 
Europe’s  airports  still  handled  over  5  million  passengers  on  1  March  2020  but  that  number  had 
reduced to just 174,000 by 31 March 2020 (down -97.1% compared to the same day in 2019). On 26 
July 2020 the figure was  -72% compared to the same day in 20194.  

On  30  March  2020,  the  EU  adopted  Regulation  (EU)  2020/459  amending  Regulation  (EEC)  No 
95/93  (Slot  Regulation) to  provide  airlines  with  relief  from  the  so-called  "use-it-or-lose-it"  rule. 
Under Article 8(2) of the Slot Regulation,  read in  conjunction  with  Article 10(2), air carriers must 
use at least 80% of a slot series allocated to them, or lose historical precedence for these slots.  The 
amendment waives the usage requirement for part of the 2019/2020 winter scheduling season and for 
the 2020 summer scheduling season, which runs until 24 October 2020. The aim of the amendment 
was  to  protect  the  financial  health  of  air  carriers  and  avoid  the  negative  environmental  impact  of 
empty or largely-empty flights operated only for the purpose of maintaining underlying airport slots. 
The amendment allows the Commission until 2 April 2021 to extend the duration of the waiver by 
one or more delegated acts.  

Pursuant to Article 10a(5) of the Slot Regulation, the Commission should continuously monitor the 
air traffic and COVID-19 situation in order to address the criteria set out in Article 10a(4), notably: 

-  A reduction in the level of air traffic between 2019 and 2020 (corresponding period); 
-  The reduction in air traffic is due to the outbreak of COVID-19 
-  The reduction in air traffic is likely to persist in the foreseeable future 

 According to the same article , based on the information available to it, the Commission is to present 
a  summary  report  to  the  European  Parliament  and  to  the  Council  by  15  September  2020  and,    if 
necessary, is to adopt a delegated act extending the duration of the waiver. 

This summary report assesses the situation based on data gathered from EUROCONTROL, a sample 
of  airlines  representing  70%  of  total  traffic  in  the  EU,  slot-coordinators  and  travel  agents;  and  on  
information from the European Center for Disease Control (ECDC), the World Health Organisation 

1  Economic Performance of the Airline Industry – Jun 2020 
2  The World Health Organisation declared it a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern” on 30 January and a 
pandemic  on  11  March  https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/30-01-2020-statement-on-the-second-meeting-of-the-
international-health-regulations-(2005)-emergency-committee-regarding-the-outbreak-of-novel-coronavirus-(2019-ncov) 
and  https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19-
--11-march-2020 
3  https://www.eurocontrol.int/sites/default/files/2020-04/draft-performance-review-report-prr2019.pdf; Cargo traffic also 
plummeted: IATA reported a 27,7% decrease in global cargo tonne kilometres between April 2019 and April 2020 (Alan 
Dron, Aviation Daily, 4 June 2020). 
4  https://www.aci-europe.org/european-airports-passenger-traffic-1-march-26-july-2020  

2 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
(WHO)  and  Member  States  on  the  epidemiological  situation  and  forecast,  and  on  containment 
measures taken. 

2. An unprecedented downturn in air traffic 

a.  Reduction in the level of air traffic between 2019 and 2020 (corresponding period) 

For the purpose of this report, data on air traffic levels, slot use, load factor, and cancelled flights in a 
given week of 2020 have been compared to the same week of 2019. 

Eurocontrol data sets the start of the downturn of traffic in the EEA in week 11 with a drop of 17% 
compared  to  the  same  week  in  2019.  This  continued  to  fall  quickly  to  a  59%  and  82%  decrease 
compared to 2019 in weeks 12 and 13 respectively. The lowest points were recorded in weeks 15 and 
16 (89% decrease). Afterwards traffic started to gradually pick up, but was still only at 26% of 2019 
levels as of 22 June 2020 (week 26), a 74% of drop in trafic compared to the previous year. By mid-
August 2020 traffic was still down -47 % compared to the same period in 2019. 

 EEA Air traffic levels 2019 vs 2020 

Figure 1.1  

200.000

150.000

100.000

50.000

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32

Week number 

2019

2020

(source: Eurocontrol) 

As  a  result  of  the  drop  in  traffic,  the  slot  utilisation  rate  dropped  sharply  (figure  1.3)  and  flight 
cancellations  soared  (figure  1.2)  compared  to  the  same  period  in  2019.  From  week  11  onwards,  a 
steep decrease in slot utilisation can be witnessed, which stabilised at a very low level from week 14 
onwards and remains below 20%. Flight cancellations pick up from week 9 and increase at a steeper 
rate from week 11. 

3 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 1.2 and 1.3                                                   

Cancelled flights, 2019 vs 2020 

Mean Slot use rate 2019 VS 2020 

80000

60000

40000

20000

0

1

3

5

7

9

11 13 15 17 19 21 23

Mean 2019 Slots use rate %

Mean 2020 Slots use rate %

150%

100%

50%

0%

Sum 2019 Number of flights cancelled

Sum 2020 Number of flights cancelled

1 

3 

5 

7 

9  11  13  15  17  19  21  23 

Week number 

Source (figure 1.2 and 1.3): Data collected by the Commission from air carriers5 

Meanwhile,  the  average  load  factor  for  10  European  air  carriers  which  have  provided  the 
Commission with data dropped from 80% in week 9 to 26% in week 15. Not only do air carriers fly 
less, but  the few remaining  flights  remain underbooked. By  week 23 when intra-EU  air travel  had 
been  reopened  to  a  significant  extent,  the  average  load  factor  recovered  to  44%  and  during  mid-
August  went  up  to  56%.  During  the  same  week  in  2019,  the  average  load  factor  of  the  same  air 
carriers ranged from 75% (week 4) to 89% (week 26). 

Mean load factor % , 2019 vs 2020 

Figure 1.4

100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29

Mean 2019 Load factor %

Mean 2020 Load factor %

Source: Data collected by the Commission from air carriers6 

5  9 major European air carriers (legacy, low-cost and regional) provided the Commission with the dataset  on slot use. 
Figures  refer  to  the  number  of  slots  operated  compared  to  slots  held  before  the  start  of  the  season  (Historic  Baseline 
Date).  10  major  European  air  carriers  (legacy,  low-cost  and  regional)  provided  the  Commission  with  the  dataset  on 
cancelled flights. 
6    10  major  European  air  carriers  (legacy,  low-cost  and  regional)  provided  the  Commission  with  the  dataset  on  load 
factors. 

4 

 
 
 
                                                 
b.  The reduction in air traffic is due to the outbreak of COVID-19 

COVID-19  has  spread  across  the  globe  with  cases  on  five  continents.  While  travel  restrictions  are 
generally not seen by the WHO and ECDC as the most effective way of countering a pandemic, both 
the  WHO  together  with  the  International  Civil  Aviation  Organisation  (ICAO)  and  the  ECDC  have 
suggested that short-term travel restrictions can contribute to the containment of the outbreak.7 Many 
countries  responded  to  the  COVID-19  outbreak  by  introducing  flight  bans  and  travel  restrictions, 
some  of  which  are  still  in  effect  today.8  This  has  severely  impacted  international  air  travel  as 
restrictions authorising only “essential travel” suppress demand to a level where most routes can no 
longer be operated commercially.9  

Intra-EU  flight  bans  have  been  justified  by  Member  States  as  a  measure  to  contain  the  spread  of 
COVID-19,  concerns  that  measures  adopted  by  some  countries  proved  not  to  be  efficient  enough, 
and WHO and ECDC statistical  data on the number of new cases.10 The scope of travel  and flight 
bans  varied.11  In  order  to  promote  the  continued  operation  of  cargo  services,  the  Commission 
introduced  guidelines  for  facilitating  air  cargo  operations  during  the  COVID-19  pandemic.12  The 
peak of the flight bans between Member States was recorded during the period 20 March - 26 March 
2020, during which 20 Member States had introduced flight bans.13 Thereafter, there has been a slow 
reduction, on 31st March 16 Member States had flight bans and on 6 April, 14 Member States. As of 
7 July, 7 Member States have flight bans towards a few specific countries which have a higher rate 
of COVID-19 cases.14 

Regarding  extra-EU  flights,  on  16  March  2020,  the  Commission  adopted  a  Communication15 
recommending  a  temporary  restriction  of  non-essential  travel  from  third  countries  into  the  EU+ 
area16  for  one  month.  On  17  March  2020,  the  Heads  of  State  or  Government  of  the  EU  agreed  to 
implement  the  temporary  restriction  of  non-essential  travel.  The  four  Schengen  Associated  States 
also implemented it. This restriction has since then been prolonged several times.   

Beyond the regulatory environment, consumer confidence is a key pandemic-related factor affecting 
traffic levels and suggesting a link between a decrease in air traffic and the outbreak of COVID-19. 
There  is  not  much  data  on  this  yet.  The  Irish  Central  Statistics  Office  conducted  a  survey  on 

7https://www.icao.int/Security/COVID-19/Pages/default.aspx, 
https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/Considerations-related-to-measures-for-travellers-reduce-
spread-COVID-19-in-EUEEA.pdf 
8  Regarding long-term travel restrictions, these are normally not effective once appropriate containment measures are in 
place 
9  Demonstrated by the drop in traffic described in section a. and the reason the waiver was introduced in the first place. 
10 ICAO requires travel restrictions that have significant effects on international air transport to be notified to the WHO. 
In  the  EU,  Regulation  1008/2008  requires  intra  EEA  flight  bans  to  be  notified  to  other  Member  States  and  the 
Commission. They must be proportionate, non-discriminatory and justified. 
11  Bans  could  be  directed  at  single  or  multiple  Member  States,  they  could  cover  all  flights,  or  all  flights  excluding 
repatriation, cargo, state flights etc. 
12 European Commission Guidelines: Facilitating Air Cargo Operations during COVID-19 Outbreak, adopted 26 March 
2020.https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1597918301932&uri=CELEX%3A52020XC0327%2803%29 
13 The restrictions could also include prohibitions for flights to/from non-EEA countries. 
14  Information  on  the  current  status  of  flight  bans  can  be  found  here:  https://ec.europa.eu/transport/coronavirus-
response_en?modes=3845&category=3800 
15 COM(2020) 115, 16 March 2020. 
16 The “EU+ area” includes all Schengen Member States (including Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania), as well as 
the four Schengen Associated States.  

5 

 
 
                                                 
passenger  confidence  to  travel  by  plane.  Almost  four  in  five  (78.0%)  respondents  reported  feeling 
“uncomfortable” or “very uncomfortable” with the prospect of taking an international trip by plane.17 

IATA’s regularly published economic reports on the crisis show that since February 2020 year-on-
year,  bookings  fell  at  an  increasing  rate  until  about  mid-April.  Since  then,  they  have  recovered 
somewhat  but  remain  down  82%  as  of  the  end  of  June  2020.  There  appears  to  be  a  correlation 
between  the  increase  in  new  cases  and  the  decrease  in  bookings.18  In  addition,  IATA  has  been 
commissioning regular surveys on passenger confidence since the outbreak of COVID-19. In April, 
around  60%  of  respondents  indicated  that  they  would  be  likely  to  return  to  travel  within  a  few 
months  of  the  pandemic  having  subsided.  In  June,  this  figure  had  slipped  to  45%.  Respondents 
indicate  they  would  wait  6  months  to  a  year  before  returning  to  travel.  Therefore,  the  lack  of 
consumer confidence is expected to continue for the months to come. 

The foregoing shows a strong link between the drop in air traffic and the outbreak of COVID-19. 

c.  The reduction in air traffic is likely to persist in the foreseeable future 

In  the  current  circumstances,  stable  predictions  of  the  evolution  of  traffic  levels  are  difficult. 
Scenarios  developed  by  EUROCONTROL19  (depending  on  a  coordinated20  or  uncoordinated 
approach  to  recovery  respectively)  estimate,  under  the  more  optimistic,  coordinated  approach 
scenario,  air  traffic  levels  to  gradually  pick  up  from  their  lowest  point  in  April  2020  to  a  50% 
decrease  in  August  2020  compared  with  August  2019,  and  a  15%  decrease  in  February  2021 
compared to February 2020. As of 30 July, IATA in its economic forecast expects revenue passenger 
kilometres (RPKs)21 to decline by a little more than 60% in 2020 compared to 2019, with a return to 
pre -COVID levels not occurring before 2024.22  

Factors  that  will  have  an  impact  on  how  air  traffic  levels  evolve  are  travel  restrictions,  consumer 
booking patterns, and regulatory health measures imposed on the industry. These are closely linked 
to  the  possibility  of  a  resurgence  of  cases  and  the  absence  for  the  time  being  of  a  vaccine.  All 
forecasts are tainted by a high degree of uncertainty. 

Regarding  travel  restrictions,  as  described  in  section  b,  the  number  of  intra-EU  flight  bans  is 
currently  decreasing.  The  Commission  recommended  Schengen  Member  States  and  Schengen 
Associated  States  to  lift  internal  border  controls  by  15  June  2020,  which  resulted  in  commercial 
schedules passenger traffic picking up (see Figure 1.1). From 1 July on, a Council Recommendation 
advised  the  authorisation  of  non-essential  travel  to  and  from  an  initial  list  of  third  countries,  to  be 
reviewed  regularly.  However,  while  a  continued  improvement  in  air  traffic  is  expected  over  the 

17https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-sic19cler/socialimpactofcovid-
19surveyjune2020measuringcomfortlevelsaroundtheeasingofrestrictions/  To  be  noted  that  Ireland  has  a  quarantine  in 
place  for  all  international  travellers  arriving  in  Ireland.  This  has  an  impact  on  the  public’s  perception  of  the  safety  of 
flying. 
18 https://www.iata.org/en/iata-repository/publications/economic-reports/Flexibility-will-be-critical-to-restart/ slide 4. 
19 https://www.eurocontrol.int/sites/default/files/2020-04/eurocontrol-aviation-recovery-factsheet-27042020.pdf 
20  The  ‘Coordinated  Measures’  Scenario  is  based  on  there  being  a  common  approach  to  putting  in  place  operational 
procedures and lifting national restrictions. The ‘Uncoordinated Measures’ Scenario assumes that this common approach 
does not materialise. 
21 Revenue passenger kilometres means a sum of the products obtained by multiplying the number of revenue passengers 
carried on each flight stage by the stage distance. The resultant figure is equal to the number of kilometres travelled by all 
revenue passengers. https://ext.eurocontrol.int/lexicon/index.php/Revenue_passenger-kilometres 
22  https://www.iata.org/en/iata-repository/publications/economic-reports/Five-years-to-return-to-the-pre-pandemic-level-
of-passenger-demand/ 

6 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
European  summer  period  due  to  restrictions  being  lifted,  a  second  wave  of  cases,  as  has  been 
witnessed in the People’s Republic of China and several locations in the EU, may induce a renewed 
decrease  in  air  traffic.  Indeed,  while  decreasing  trends  in  disease  incidence  are  being  observed  in 
Europe overall23, there is still community transmission reported in most EU/EEA countries and some 
are  experiencing  a  resurgence  of  cases  or  large  localised  outbreaks.24  There  is  also  a  historic 
precedent on pandemics developing in several waves. This may lead to bans being reinstated and air 
traffic decreasing. 

Regarding  future  demand  for  air  traffic  and  consumer  confidence,  stakeholders  contacted  by  the 
Commission (airlines, travel agents, computer reservation systems) stated that it is very difficult to 
make  projections  beyond  the  winter  2020/2021  scheduling  season.  While  pre-COVID-19  airlines 
may already be able to offer schedules for the year ahead, airlines are currently facing difficulties in 
predicting schedules for the upcoming season. Airlines are keeping flight  schedules under constant 
review, to react to unpredictable changes in travel or flight restrictions and hard-to-predict passenger 
demand.25  

Data  on  passenger  bookings  show  that  monthly  bookings  until  March  2021  continue  to  be  much 
lower compared to the same month in the previous year. Even though intra-EU bookings have started 
to pick up for summer 2020, airlines do not seem able to reach the level of previous years due to the 
fact that during three months no bookings were made. It remains to be seen whether this demand is 
lost or can still be recovered closer to the date of operations later in the season.26 Booking rates for 
extra-EU flights are even lower.  

Regarding other regulatory health measures, as part of the exit strategy, sanitary measures are being 
implemented  in  aviation  such  as  those  based  on  the  EASA/ECDC  guidelines.27  Measures  on 
distancing and disinfection of spaces may reduce the amount of passengers and flights airports can 
service,  compared  to  the  situation  before  the  outbreak.  They  may  temporarily  or  durably  reduce 
effective airport capacity (and thus slot numbers) compared to the pre-COVID19 situation.  

As a result, airlines are only gradually increasing the capacity offered to the market, typically serving 
a significant number of routes compared to 2019 but with much lower frequency and thus reduced 
slot series usage.  

23 week 25/2020 - https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/covid-19/surveillance/weekly-surveillance-report 
24https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/RRA-Resurgence-of-reported-cases-of-COVID-19-in-the-
EU-EEA.pdf.  In  a  number  of  countries  the  curve  for  reported  cases  is  turning  upwards  again  (for  example,  Portugal, 
Sweden, Croatia, Luxemburg). 
25  Airlines  have  to  plan  and  prepare  for  multiple  scenarios  in  the  absence  of  clear  trends  on  consumer  behaviour, 
evolution  of  the  disease,  and  alleviation  from  the  slot  usage  rules.  This  leads  to  sub-optimal  decisions  on  costs  for 
infrastructure,  labour  and  marketing.  Even  in  a  normal  year,  the  winter  season  is  a  more  challenging  one  for  airlines, 
which would typically make most of their profits during the summer season. This year, without the buffer of a profitable 
summer season behind them, the outlook for airlines for winter looks challenging. 
26  Airlines  point  out  that  consumer  booking  practices  have  changed.  Previously  consumers  would  book  months  in 
advance, whereas now as a result of decreased predictability and confidence in travelling, bookings happen much later. 
Information  provided  by  IATA  suggests  that  about  60%  of  bookings  now  come  in  the  2  weeks  before  the  operation, 
whereas compared to the same period in 2019, more than 60% of bookings were made between more than 20 days to 11 
days in advance. 
27 
management-of-passengers-issue-2.pdf 

https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/EASA-ECDC_COVID-19_Operational-guidelines-for-

7 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
The  foregoing  suggests  that  air  traffic  levels  in  2020  will  not  return  to  2019  levels.  The  outlook 
beyond 2020 is highly uncertain, but the trend of resurging cases and the need to maintain sanitary 
containment measures suggest that air traffic will not reach 2019 levels soon. 

3. Maintaining the best possible use of airport capacity 

Since  the  slot  waiver  was  adopted  the  Commission  has  been  in  close  contact  with  the  main 
stakeholder  groups,  airlines,  airports  and  slot-coordinators  to  monitor  the  implementation  of  the 
measure. This has shown that the measure resulted in certain shortcomings. 

Advanced hand-back of slots 

Article 10a(3) of the Slot Regulation in the version of Regulation (EU) 2020/459 makes the waiver 
under  this  Article  conditional  for  the  air  carrier  concerned  to  make  unused  slots  available  to  the 
coordinator, for reallocation to other carriers. While recital 7 refers to the concept of carriers acting 
“without  delay”,  Article  10a(3)  sets  no  specific  time  limit.  In  a  letter  of  16  April  2020  to  airlines, 
airports  and  slot-coordinators,  the  Commission  services  strongly  encouraged  carriers  to  hand  back 
slots at least two weeks before the originally planned day of operation. The aim was to fully preserve 
the objective of the waiver, while optimising the use of airport capacity where possible. Air carriers 
handing  back  slots  at  a  sufficiently  early  stage  would  not  lose  their  historic  rights,  but  airport 
capacity would not be wasted unnecessarily either. Some experience shows the benefits thereof. For 
example,  cargo  operations  were  enabled  to  make  use  of  slots  handed  back  by  air  carriers  that 
normally  would  have  used  them  for  passenger  services.  Several  airlines  providing  feedback  to  the 
Commission have stated that they have been able to request slots form the pool without difficulty, to 
offer services at different timings or, in some instances, for new routes.  

The European Airport Coordinators Association (EUACA) has monitored the slot hand-back practice 
and timing at a number of airports.28 The data gathered shows that very late cancellations and slot-
handbacks,  less  than  one  week  in  advance,  were  made  predominantly  by  airlines  for  flights 
scheduled in March. Gradually air carriers started to hand-back slots earlier and by mid-June 2020 
the majority of slots at the selected airports were handed back between 3 weeks before the scheduled 
date of operations and earlier, but a significant portion (34,6%) was still handed back later.29   

While  for  cargo  operations  stakeholders  generally  indicated  that  such  operations  could  be  planned 
shortly  in  advance,  for  commercial  passenger  flights  there  was  broad  consensus  that  more  time  is 
needed  to  plan  these.  On  the  one  hand,  this  suggests  that  if  airlines  consistently  hand-back  slots 
sufficiently early in advance, perhaps more airlines would be able to plan and to use those slots on a 
temporary  basis  to  operate  different  services.  This  would  be  beneficial  for  passengers  and  more 
generally  for  maintaining  connectivity.  On  the  other  hand,  some  airlines  point  out  that  passenger 
booking behaviour has changed significantly and, as explained above, passengers now decide within 
four  weeks  before  the  scheduled  day  of  operations  whether  to  book  a  flight  or  not.  These  airlines 

28 Data  was collected by EUACA  from the  following airports:  Amsterdam (NL); Stockholm  Arlanda  (SE); Barcelona, 
Palma  de  Mallorca,  Madrid,  Las  Palmas  (ES);  Brussels  (BE);  Paris  Charles  de  Gaulle.  Lyon,  Nice,  Nantes  (FR); 
Dusseldorf,  Frankfurt  (DE);  Faro,  Funchal,  Lisbon,  Porto,  Ponta  Delgada  (PT);  Graz  Innsbruck,  Klagenfurt,  Linz, 
Vienna, Salzburg (AT); Helsinki (FI); Heraklion (EL); Krakow, Warsaw (PL); Larnaca (CY); London Heathrow, London 
Stansted (UK); Oslo (NO); Prague (CZ); Sofia (BG) 
29 https://www.euaca.org/FNewsDetail.aspx?id=388&popup=1  

8 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
argue  that  they  do  not  have  sufficient  visibility  of  a  flights’  load  factor  four  weeks  in  advance  to 
make an informed decision of whether to operate it or hand-back the slot. 

Difficulty for airports, and airport services providers to plan operations effectively 

Airports  providing  feedback  to  the  Commission  have  argued  that  the  closer  to  the  planned  date  of 
operations  slots  are  returned,  the  more  difficult  and  costly  it  is  for  them  to  plan  their  operations. 
Planning  involves  considerations  about  staff,  opening  of  infrastructure  and  related  services  (e.g. 
security  equipment  and  staff,  terminal  capacity,  air  bridge  operations,  cleaning  staff,  electricity,  It 
systems). Lower traffic volumes than expected will result in higher costs for airports than necessary, 
whereas higher traffic volumes at short notice may result in understaffing and difficulty in planning 
social distancing and sanitary measures. Both result in significant costs to airports.  

Risks that competition is excluded from airports 

Slot allocation for the winter 2020/2021 scheduling season will have taken place in the knowledge 
that the season will be marked as one of recovery from the effects of the coronavirus and that further 
unpredictable changes  in  demand might  still occur in  the coming months. Airlines, being aware of 
the possibility of an extension of the waiver during the period slot allocation may request slots for 
the purpose of increasing their slot portfolio. Airlines may request a number of slots higher than the 
number  corresponding  to  their  historic  rights.  Thanks  to  the  waiver,  there  would  be  no  need,  to 
operate  them  for  obtaining  the  same  slots  in  the  next  equivalent  season  Further,  instead  of  freeing 
slots they  are not  using,  they may exclude entry  into the market  by competitors. This  is  especially 
problematic where airlines already announced they do not intend to operate their slots at all or cannot 
any longer operate them because they decided to permanently reduce their fleet and their staff.  

An  assessment  of  the  situation  should  also  address  the  risk  that  coming  seasons  may  witness  a 
structural reduction in capacity placed on the market by airlines, whether through the retirement of 
aircraft or as a result of market exit. The market may stabilise at a lower level than that witnessed in 
2019, and the question arises at what point airlines should be required to adapt to the reduced traffic 
situation caused by the pandemic through the reinstatement of the 80/20 use-it-or-lost-it rule. 

4. Conclusions 
At  this  moment  in  time,  despite  a  gradual  increase,  air  traffic  levels  are  still  low  compared  to  the 
same period in 2019. Despite the difficulties in accurately predicting the recovery path of air traffic 
levels,  it  is  reasonable  to  expect  that  it  will  not  return  to  pre-COVID  levels  in  the  near  future. 
Government restrictions on travel and flights to/from certain destinations, sanitary measures allowing 
for  safe  travel,  and  consumer  confidence,  will  be  key  factors.  The  downturn  in  traffic  and  the 
recovery  path  are  closely  linked  to  the  outbreak  of  COVID-19.  The  conditions  in  Article  10a(4) 
described  in  the  introduction  to  extend  the  waiver  by  delegated  act  beyond  the  summer  2020 
scheduling season are thus met. 

However,  certain  shortcomings  have  been  identified  with  the  functioning  of  the  current  measures, 
which may warrant further reflection on the appropriate policy response.  

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The Commission concludes that:  

- 

- 

- 

a  continued  alleviation  of  the  use-it-or-lose-it  rule  is  needed  beyond  the  summer  2020 
scheduling season. 
a considerable uncertainty remains about the future evolution of the pandemic and hence also 
about  the  path  towards  the  stabilisation  of  traffic  levels  and  patterns  beyond  2020, 
specifically  in  a  more  longer  term  perspective.  Therefore,  further  regulatory  intervention 
beyond simply extending the duration of the waiver by delegated act may be necessary.  
In  such  longer  term  perspective,  the  alleviation  of  the  use-it-or-lose-it  rule  may  need  to  be 
designed  so  as  to  minimise  any  distortive  impact  on  the  market  and  to  promote  the  best 
possible  use  of  limited  airport  capacity  while  ensuring  that  it  does  not  lead  to  additional 
greenhouse gas emissions due to empty or largely-empty flights operated only for the purpose 
of maintaining underlying airport slots. 

The Commission will extend the alleviation from the slot use rule by delegated act to the extent 
justified by the situation observed. 

For  any  action  in  a  more  longer  term  perspective,  it  will  continue  to  consult  with  stakeholders 
regarding  the  implementation  and  shortcomings  of  the  slot  waiver  to  determine  an  appropriate 
policy response. 

10