Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 95/93 as regards temporary relief from the slot utilisation rules at Community airports due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Date: 2020-12-16
Institutions: Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission
Subjects: air traffic, airport, carrier, common transport policy, coronavirus disease, epidemic, transport capacity, transport planning

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 16.12.2020  COM(2020) 818 final 2020/0358 (COD)  Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 95/93 as regards temporary relief from the slot utilisation rules at Community airports due to the COVID-19 pandemic (Text with EEA relevance) {SWD(2020) 341 final}  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal  

• 
Regulation (EEC) No 95/931 (the ‘Slot Regulation’) lays down the rules on the allocation of 
slots at EU airports. Its Article 10 sets out the ‘use-it-or-lose-it’ rule, according to which air 
carriers  must  use  at  least  80%  of  their  allocated  slots  within  a  given  scheduling  period 
(summer or winter) in order to retain precedence in respect of the same series of slots for the 
next equivalent scheduling period (‘grandfather’ or ‘historic’ rights). 

Due to the decline in passenger demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, air carriers have 
made  major  changes  to  their  schedules  since  1 March 2020,  which  have  resulted  in  a  slot 
utilisation rate at coordinated airports falling far below the 80% threshold imposed by the Slot 
Regulation.  

To  address  this,  on  30 March 2020  the  European  Union  adopted  an  amendment  to  the  Slot 
Regulation to waive the ‘use-it-or-lose-it’ rule for the entire summer 2020 scheduling period, 
ending on 24 October 2020. That amendment also empowered the Commission to extend the 
period covered by the waiver, by adopting one or more delegated acts. On 14 October 2020, 
the Commission  adopted a delegated act  extending the period waiving the ‘use-it-or-lose-it’ 
rule until the end of the winter 2020/2021 scheduling season on 27 March 2021. 

As  expected,  the  drop  in  passenger  demand  has  persisted  throughout  the  summer  2020 
scheduling period. Eurocontrol data sets  the start of the downturn in  traffic in  the European 
Economic Area (EEA) in week 11 with a drop of 17% compared to the same week in 2019. 
Traffic continued to drop sharply 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). 
Average load factors among a sample of 10 European air carriers dropped from 80% in week 
9  to  26%  in  week  15.  Not  only  were  air  carriers  flying  less  frequently,  but  the  remaining 
flights were underbooked compared to 2019. By week 23, when intra-EU air travel had been 
reopened to a large extent, the average load factor recovered to 44%. During the same week in 
2019,  the  average  load  factor  of  the  same  air  carriers  ranged  from  75%  (week  4)  to  86% 
(week 16). By mid-November 2020, air traffic was down 65% compared to the same week in 
2019. 

Latest Eurocontrol forecasts indicate that air traffic in February 2021 is  expected to be only 
half the level of February 2020. What will happen beyond that is uncertain, but there are no 
indications that demand will return, in the summer 2021 season, anywhere close to the level 
of recent years.  

At  the  same  time,  it  should  be  recalled  that  the  objective  of  the  ‘use-it-or-lose-it’  rule  is  to 
ensure  the  most  efficient  use  of  airport  capacity  to  maximise  the  benefit  to  the  greatest 
number  of  users  and  allow  passengers  to  reap  the  benefits  of  a  competitive  aviation  market 
and  connectivity.  The  waiver  to  the  ‘use-it-or-lose-it’  rule  has  indeed  provided  relief  to  air 
carriers during the current unprecedented lack of demand and restrictions on air travel while 
also  avoiding the negative environmental impact of empty or largely-empty  flights  operated 

1 

Council Regulation (EEC) No 95/93 of 18 January 1993 on common rules for the allocation of slots at 
Community airports, OJ L 14, 22.1.1993, p. 1. 

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only for the purpose of maintaining underlying airport slots. However, the negative impact of 
further  extending  the  waiver  should  also  be  taken  into  account.  The  effect  of  the  current 
waiver  is  to  freeze  competition  at  2019  levels  without  there  being  any  requirement  that 
capacity  is  actually  used  efficiently,  because  the  provisions  of  that  waiver  have  turned  out 
insufficient to ensure that other air carriers able to operate can obtain the necessary slots. For 
the  period  starting  after  more  than  a  year  of  waiving  the  ‘use-it-or-lose-it’  rule  (from 
1 February 2020  to  27 March 2021),  which  preserves  air  carriers’  2019  grandfathered  slots 
until the end of the winter 2021/2022 scheduling season, it is time to establish a pathway to 
return to a normal application of the ‘use-it-or-lose-it’ rule. The return to normal should not 
be  sudden  to  avoid  destabilising  the  aviation  market  to  the  detriment  of  air  carriers, 
connectivity, EU consumers, and the environment. The return to normal should take place in 
line with future increases in traffic levels toward 2019 levels or by a stabilisation of air traffic 
to a new market situation. 

It is therefore proposed that from the start of the summer 2021 scheduling period, the normal 
application of the slot utilisation requirements under the Slot Regulation should reapply, but 
that the rate should be set at 40/60 instead of 80/20. That is to say that air carriers would be 
required  to  operate  40%  of  a  given  series  of  slots,  in  order  for  them  to  retain  priority  for  a 
given operated series of slots for the following equivalent scheduling period. This adjustment 
would  proportionately  protect  historic  rights  during  the  sharp  drop  in  demand  for  air  travel 
caused  by  the  COVID-19  pandemic  and  would  contribute  to  avoiding  the  environmental 
impact  of  empty  or  largely-empty  flights  operated  only  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining 
underlying airport slots. It would also contribute to a more efficient use of airport capacity for 
the benefit of passengers and connectivity.  

In light of experience, this slot relief proposal includes conditions to ensure that the period of 
relief remains compatible with the optimal use of scarce airport capacity and also contributes 
to the preservation of competition, in the interest of passengers. Relief should be targeted at 
air  carriers  whose  intention  is  to  operate  their  grandfathered  slots  as  soon  as  demand 
sufficiently  recovers  and  flights  are  once  again  economically  viable.  Therefore,  slot  series 
newly allocated to an air carrier for the first time, i.e. slot series to which the air carrier is not 
entitled as a result of having obtained grandfather rights, should not be covered by the relief 
as those air carriers would have applied for such additional slots knowing that demand for air 
travel was low due to COVID-19 pandemic and the underlying slot series are exempted from 
the  normal  application  from  the  use-it-or-lose-it  rule.  Therefore,  air  carriers  obtaining  such 
slot series for the first time will have to use at least 80% of such newly allocated slot series to 
obtain  priority  for  the  next  equivalent  scheduling  period.  This  approach  corresponds  to  the 
voluntary  agreement  between  airports,  air  carriers  and  slot  coordinators  on  the  operation  of 
the current slot waiver for the winter 2020/2021 scheduling season and beyond2. 

The  use-it-or-lose-it  rule  (i.e.  the  requirement  to  use  at  least  80%  of  the  slot  series)  should 
also  continue  to  apply  in  the  event  of  slot  exchanges  under  paragraph  1  (c)  of  Article  8a, 
where the exchange is accompanied by any financial or other compensation. The intention is 
to  prevent  the  payment  of  remuneration  for  the  value  inherent  in  the  relief.  By  contrast, 
exchanges  without  financial  or  other  compensation,  carried  out  to  improve  timings,  for 
example, would not stand in  the way of the relief being applied to  the slots concerned. The 

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“Joint agreement of  airlines,  airports and slot coordinators on conditions that  should be applied to an 
extension 
season” 
https://www.euaca.org/up/files/NW20%20EU%20Slot%20Waiver%20-
%20Common%20proposal%20airlines%20-%20airports%20-%20slots%20coordinators.pdf 

NW2020 

waiver 

slot 

full 

the 

of 

to 

a 

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same would apply for example to slots transferred as a result of decisions by public authorities 
under national or EU competition law (cf. Article 8b of the Slot Regulation). 

The proposal includes a deadline for air carriers to return unwanted slots to the coordinator if 
they  are  to  benefit  from  the  relief.  A  deadline  of  three  weeks  before  the  scheduled  date  of 
operations for that slot will allow airports and other airport service providers to have visibility 
over how much capacity is required and the volume of operations expected to ensure that they 
make adequate infrastructure, facilities and staff available. It also allows other air carriers to 
estimate which airport capacity is available, should they wish to use it to operate flights. The 
earlier the slots are made available for reallocation, the more likely it is that other air carriers 
will be able to use them. The rules proposed herewith cover both reallocation on a temporary 
basis for the season in question (without the carrier to which these slots have been re-allocated 
gaining  grandfather  rights)  or  on  a  permanent  basis,  namely  where  the  air  carrier  which 
returned the slots to the pool, does not envisage using them in the next equivalent scheduling 
period. In that case, air carriers that used at least five of such slots should be given priority, 
over other applicant carriers and new entrants, to the entire original slot series of the carriers 
that released them to the pool. 

It  is  also  necessary  to  clarify  under  which  circumstances  the  coordinators  could  withdraw 
slots  from  air  carriers.  When  a  coordinator  determines,  on  the  basis  of  information  at  its 
disposal,  that  an  air  carrier  has  ceased  its  operations  at  an  airport  and  is  no  longer  able  to 
operate  the  slots  which  it  has  been  allocated,  the  slots  in  question  should  be  immediately 
returned to the pool and made available for reallocation to other air carriers, entailing the loss 
of historic rights over those slots for the airline leaving the airport. 

On  the  basis  of  the  information  currently  available  from  Eurocontrol,  it  is  reasonable  to 
assume that the current situation, characterised by an exceptional fall in demand, will continue 
until at least the start of the summer 2021 scheduling period. Given the uncertainty, it is also 
possible that the period of exceptionally low demand could  last at  least up to  and including 
the winter 2024/2025 scheduling period according to predictions from air carrier and airport 
associations, such as ACI-Europe and IATA. 

Therefore,  under  these  circumstances,  the  Slot  Regulation  should  be  amended  to  further 
protect  air  carriers’  grandfather  rights  in  those  slot  series  that  have  not  been  used  at  the 
normal 80% rate during the period when the aviation market has been adversely affected by 
the  COVID-19  pandemic.  Slot  relief  would  be  extended  for  a  further  season,  beyond  the 
extension provided for in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1477, and would thus 
cover the period from 28 March 2021 until 30 October 2021. This relief would reduce the slot 
utilisation  rate  from  80%  to  40%.  In  addition,  the  amendment  would  give  the  Commission 
delegated powers to further extend the slot relief beyond the summer 2021 scheduling season 
and also to further adjust the rate of slot utilisation based on a number of indicators such as 
actual and forecast air traffic data, load factors and fleet utilisation.  The Commission would 
adopt  delegated  acts,  where  required,  to  adjust  the  slot  utilisation  rate,  for  any  scheduling 
period from winter 2021/2022 up to and including winter 2024/2025.  

The  slot  allocation  process  takes  place  well  in  advance  of  the  respective  scheduling  period. 
Air carriers, airports and other service providers would thus need to know in due time about 
the  rules  applicable  to  a  given  scheduling  period.  By  the  same  token,  early  knowledge  of 
those rules also encourages them to return slots they do not intend to use to the coordinator at 
an early stage. Therefore, the Commission should adopt the relevant delegated acts before the 
slot allocation process is finalised.  

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• 

Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area 

The  Slot  Regulation  provides  air  carriers  with  relief  from  the  slot  utilisation  rules  that  are 
currently  problematic  for  air  carriers  due  to  the  COVID-19  pandemic.  The  Slot  Regulation 
empowers the Commission to adopt delegated acts which can only amend the period during 
which the current waiver applies. Extended periods of relief from the slot utilisation rules lead 
to distortions in competition which impact passenger connectivity, employment and quality of 
jobs in the aviation sector and cause specific problems for airports and service providers. At 
the same time, a sudden change back to the normal use-it-or-lose-it rule, would risk causing 
additional  financial  burden  on  air  carriers,  and  could  have  an  unintentional  adverse 
environmental  effect  of  air  carriers  operating  empty  or  largely-empty  flights  only  for  the 
purpose  of  maintaining  underlying  airport  slots.  The  Slot  Regulation  should  therefore  be 
amended to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to provide legal certainty to air 
carriers and maintain the unity of the European slot allocation system. 

• 

Consistency with other Union policies 

The effective functioning of the internal  market  in aviation  and  related services depends on 
the  economic  performance  of  air  carriers  and  other  parts  of  the  aviation  sector,  including 
airports and other service providers. The negative economic consequences of the COVID-19 
pandemic is endangering their financial health and is having serious negative effects on the air 
transport  system  and  the  economy  as  a  whole.  The  amendment  of  the  Slot  Regulation  is 
therefore of utmost importance. Further it is also consistent with the EU’s climate policy as it 
prevents  air  carriers  from  the  incentive  to  operate  empty  or  largely-empty  flights  operated 
only for the purpose of maintaining underlying airport slots. 

2. 

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LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

Legal basis 

The  legal  basis  for  the  proposal  is  Article  100(2)  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the 
European  Union.  That  Article  provides  the  legal  basis  to  adopt  all  appropriate  air  transport 
legislation and serves as the legal basis for the Slot Regulation and its amendments. 

• 

Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)  

The objectives of the proposal cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States since the 
Slot Regulation does not allow Member States to require coordinators to impose conditions to 
slot  relief,  and  change  the  slot  utilisation  rate  in  response  to  changing  traffic  levels.  This 
objective can only be achieved by the Union amending the Slot Regulation. 

• 

Proportionality 

The proposal does not go beyond what is necessary to achieve the objective of alleviating the 
economic  impact  of  the  COVID-19  pandemic  to  the  operation  of  the  Slot  Regulation.  The 
proposal strikes a balance between the need to grant airlines relief from the ‘use-it-or-lose-it’ 
rule in response to low demand in air travel resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and the 
need to return to a normal application of slot allocation rules in proportion to recovering air 
traffic  levels.  The  proposal  also  includes  a  number  of  pro-competitive  measures  to  address 
certain unintended negative effects from the current slot waiver. 

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Choice of the instrument 

To achieve its objective, the legal instrument must be of direct and general application, in the 
same way as is the Slot Regulation. Therefore, the appropriate legal instrument is a regulation. 

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3. 

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RESULTS 
CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

EX-POST 

EVALUATIONS, 

OF 

STAKEHOLDER 

Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation 

Article 10a(4) of the Slot Regulation, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2020/459, required the 
Commission to present to the European Parliament and the Council, by 15 September 2020, a 
summary report on the air traffic situation. In order to gather data and other information, the 
Commission  services  have  been  in  regular  contact  with  air  carriers,  airports,  airport  slot 
coordinators,  as  well  as  their  associations  to  monitor  the  evolving  air  traffic  situation,  to 
assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on demand for air transport and the level of air 
traffic,  and  determine  the  effectiveness  of  the  slot  waiver.  The  report  published  on 
14 September 2020  assesses  the  implementation  of  the  slot  waiver  and  identifies  certain 
shortcomings. An evaluation under the better regulation rules was not carried out due to the 
urgency to adopt rules providing carriers in due time with adequate relief from the ‘use-it-or-
lose-it’ rule, in view of the persisting consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on air traffic.  

• 

Stakeholder consultations 

Due to the urgency of the matter formal stakeholder consultation has not been carried out. The 
Commission  published  a  Roadmap  for  feedback  and  a  public  consultation  on  the  better 
regulation portal to which stakeholders could reply from 1 to 28 September 2020. Due to the 
urgency of the matter, the consultation was shortened from the usual 12 weeks to 4 weeks. A 
targeted consultation and data requests were also launched during the same timeframe. 

• 

Collection and use of expertise 

As explained, an extended collection of expertise was not possible due to the urgency of the 
situation. However, the Commission has drawn on experience gained through the application 
of and amendments to the Slot Regulation that also included consultations with experts. 

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Impact assessment 

Due to the urgency of the situation, an impact assessment under better regulation rules has not 
been carried out. The proposal is  accompanied by a staff working document.  It presents the 
consequences  of  applying  the  ‘use-it-or-lose-it’  rule  during  the  COVID-19  pandemic, 
information  on  the  operation  of  the  slot  waiver  since  its  entry  into  force,  and  describes  the 
shortcomings that have emerged in the aviation market.  In addition, it discusses the phasing 
out of slot relief that would be linked to the gradual return of air traffic. It presents a preferred 
way forward to address the shortcomings and assesses its likely consequences. 

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Fundamental rights 

Not applicable.  

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

Not applicable. 

5. 

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OTHER ELEMENTS 

Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements 

The Commission should continue to follow the development of the COVID-19 pandemic and 
its impact  on air transport. As under Regulation  (EU) 2020/459,  the Commission  should be 

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empowered to adopt a delegated act extending the time periods concerned by the measure, as 
well as to adjust the minimum usage requirement, as necessary.  

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Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal 

A new temporary definition is added to Article 2 of the Slot Regulation for ‘new entrants’ to 
allow more air carriers to qualify as new entrants and obtain slots from the pool thus allowing 
more  competition  at  airports  in  light  of  the  reduced  utilisation  rate  that  makes  it  easier  for 
incumbent carriers at the airport to maintain their slots. 

In addition, a new definition for ‘COVID-19 coordination parameters’ is added and paragraph 
6a  is  inserted  in  Article  8  to  address  the  possibility  that  specific  sanitary  measures  at  an 
airport  as  a  result  of  the  COVID-19  pandemic  may  reduce  the  available  capacity  at  that 
airport, meaning that not all slots can be operated at the times for which they were allocated. 
The  coordinators  should  be  able  to  re-schedule  or  cancel  allocated  or  requested  slots  that 
cannot  be  accommodated  after  discussing  this  with  affected  air  carriers.  Air  carrier,  airport 
and  slot  coordinator  associations  have  been  discussing  how  best  to  address  these  situations 
taking  the  different  business  interests  into  account.  Coordinators  should  take  these  best 
practices in the form of industry guidelines or local rules into account if they are in line with 
the  principles  of  transparency  and  non-discrimination  and  do  not  put  into  question  the 
coordinators’ independence.  

Where slots have been made available, during a given scheduling period, by carriers holding 
historic rights to the relevant slot series, carriers which have made use of such slots are likely 
to contribute to the efficient use of the relevant slot series in subsequent scheduling periods. 
Hence, a new paragraph 2a is added to Article 8, which gives such air carriers priority for the 
allocation of the series in question in the next equivalent scheduling period, provided the air 
carrier originally holding historic rights in the given series does not request them and that the 
requesting  carrier  has  operated  five  of  the  slots  making  up  the  series.  In  order  to  avoid  the 
fragmentation  of  airport  capacity  and  schedules,  the  air  carrier  receiving  priority  should  be 
allocated  the  entire  series  of  which  the  operated  slots  are  a  part.  In  case  more  than  one  air 
carrier has used slots of the same series, priority is given to the carrier that has used the higher 
number of slots. 

A new point (e) is added to Article 10(4) to address a situation where the ability of passengers 
to fly on certain routes is impacted significantly by measures adopted by public authorities to 
contain  the  spread  of  the  COVID-19  pandemic  (e.g.  restrictions  on  traffic  rights,  on 
passengers and/or crew, border closures), after the completion of slot allocation process for an 
upcoming season. In these cases, air carriers may be relieved from the application of the ‘use-
it-or-lose-it’  rule  (as  amended).  However,  this  advantage  is  confined  so  as  to  avoid  any 
unintended effects (for details see the four new subparagraphs added to Article 10(4)). 

Article  10a  is  modified  in  several  ways.  The  period  of  the  current  waiver  in  Article  10a 
(enacted in Regulation (EU) 2020/459 in March 2020) was extended by Delegated Regulation 
(EU)  2020/1477  adopted  on  14  October  2020,  to  27  March  2021.  During  this  period 
coordinators  must,  for  the  assessment  of  priority  rights,  consider  that  slots  allocated  for  the 
period from 1 March 2020 until 27 March 2021 have been operated by the air carrier to which 
they  had  initially  been  allocated.  A  period  of  additional  relief  is  maintained  for  slots  used 
between the EU and China or between the EU and Hong Kong (from 23 January 2020). 

A new proposed paragraph 2a of Article 10a stipulates that for a series of slots allocated for 
the period from 28 March 2021 until 30 October 2021, air carriers will be entitled to the same 

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series of slots in the next equivalent scheduling period, where they have used 40% of the slots 
in that series.  

Point (a) of a new paragraph 3a of Article 10a restricts the scope of relief applicable to slots 
allocated  under  Article  10(2)  of  the  Slot  Regulation.  Slots  constituting  a  series  and  having 
been newly allocated for the respective scheduling period are proposed not to be eligible for 
relief  and  will  have  to  be  operated  in  accordance  with  the  80%  slot  utilisation  rate  for  the 
carrier  operating  them  to  be  entitled  to  the  same  series  in  the  next  equivalent  scheduling 
period. 

Point  (b)  of  Article  10a(3a)  excludes  from  the  relief  those  slots  that  have  been  exchanged 
along with financial or other compensation. This is important to ensure that the value of the 
relief  is  not  included  in  any  secondary  trade  or  lease  of  a  slot  to  another  air  carrier.  This 
provision  has  no  retroactive  effect,  that  is  to  say,  slots  that  were  traded  and  have  been 
operated  by  the  ‘purchasing’  air  carrier  with  effect  from  the  previous  equivalent  scheduling 
period (or earlier) are eligible for the relief. 

A new paragraph 7 is inserted into Article 10a so that during the period of slot relief an air 
carrier not intending to use a slot must make it available for temporary reallocation to other 
air carriers no later than three weeks before the planned date of operation of the slot. This is to 
help  other  carriers  who  may  wish  to  operate  such  slots  on  an  ad  hoc  basis.  Those  other  air 
carriers should have sufficient time to plan their operations and also to ensure that passengers, 
airports  and  airport  service  providers  have  advance  notice  of  the  planned  operations  of  air 
carriers. 

Paragraph  4  of  Article  10a  empowers  the  Commission  to  adopt  delegated  acts  to  extend 
further the period during which the relief applies if the COVID-19 pandemic is not resolved 
and  continues  to  have  a  negative  impact  on  the  air  transport  sector,  including  on  historic 
grandfather rights. The Commission is also empowered to amend the utilisation rate according 
to the evolution of traffic levels. Given how rapidly the outbreak spread, delegated acts should 
be adopted by urgency procedure.  

A new subparagraph is added to Article 14(5) which provides for a system of sanctions and 
measures in the event the new paragraph 7 of Article 10a is not complied with. 

A  new  point  (c)  of  Article  14(6)  allows  the  coordinator  to  take  action  and  withdraw  slots 
where  an  air  carrier  ceases  operations  at  that  airport.  In  such  cases,  the  coordinator  can 
withdraw the slots immediately for the remainder of the scheduling period, without having to 
wait until the end of that period, and make slots available for reallocation as early as possible. 

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2020/0358 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 95/93 as regards temporary relief from the slot 
utilisation rules at Community airports due to the COVID-19 pandemic 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 100(2) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee3, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions4, 

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a sharp drop in air traffic because of a significant 
fall in demand and direct measures taken by the Member States and third countries to 
contain the pandemic. The impact on air carriers has been detrimental since 1 March 
2020, and looking ahead it is likely to continue to negatively impact air carriers up to 
and including winter 2024/2025. 

Those  circumstances  are  beyond  the  control  of  air  carriers  and  have  led  them  to 
voluntarily or involuntarily cancel air services in response to those circumstances. In 
particular,  voluntary  cancellations  protect  the  financial  health  of  air  carriers  while  at 
the  same  time  avoid  the  negative  environmental  impact  of  empty  or  largely-empty 
flights operated only to retain their slots. 

Figures  published  by  Eurocontrol,  which  is  the  network  manager  for  the  air  traffic 
network functions of the single European sky, indicate a continued year-on-year fall of 
air traffic around 74% as of mid-June 2020.  

In  terms  of  known  forward  bookings,  Eurocontrol  forecasts  and  epidemiological 
forecasts, it is not  possible to  predict when the period of severely depressed demand 
caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is  likely to  end. According to  latest  Eurocontrol 
forecasts, air traffic in February 2021 will be around half the level of February 2020. 
Forecasts extending beyond that date rely on a number of unknown factors, such as the 
availability of a COVID-19 vaccine. Under these circumstances, air carriers failing to 
use  their  slots  in  accordance  with  the  slot  utilisation  rate  as  set  out  in  Council 

3 
4 

OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 

EN 

8 

  EN 

                                                 
(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

Regulation  (EEC)  No  95/935  should  not  automatically  loose  the  precedence  to  slot 
series  laid  down  in  Article  8(2)  and  Article  10(2)  that  they  would  otherwise  enjoy. 
Specific rules should be established to this effect.  

Those rules should at the same time address potentially negative impacts on air carrier 
competition.  In  particular,  it  should  be  ensured  that  air  carriers  prepared  to  provide 
services are enabled to take up unused capacity with any prospect of maintaining such 
slots  in  the  long  term.  This  should  maintain  air  carriers’  incentives  to  make  use  of 
airport capacity, which in turn would benefit consumers. 

It is therefore necessary to define, in accordance with these principles and for a limited 
time  period,  the  conditions  under  which  air  carriers  continue  to  be  entitled  to  slot 
series  under  Article  8(2)  and  10(2),  and  to  establish  requirements  for  air  carriers 
concerned to release unused capacity. 

The  definition  of  the  term  ‘new  entrant’  should  be  adapted  for  the  purposes  of  the 
period  concerned,  to  increase  the  number  of  air  carriers  that  may  qualify  as  new 
entrants,  thus  giving  more  air  carriers  that  so  wish  the  opportunity  to  establish  and 
expand their operations. At the same time, it is necessary to confine the corresponding 
privileges  to  genuine  new  entrants,  by  excluding  carriers  which,  together  with  any 
parent  company,  or  with  own  subsidiaries  or  subsidiaries  of  a  parent  company,  hold 
more than 10 % of the total number of slots allocated on the day in question in a given 
airport.  

During the period during which the relief from the slot utilisation rules is applied, the 
system of slot allocation should recognise the effort of air carriers that have operated 
flights using slots which are part of a series that another air carrier is entitled to under 
Article  8(2)  and  Article  10(2),  but  which  have  been  made  available  to  the  slot 
coordinator  for  temporary  reallocation.  Therefore,  air  carriers  that  have  operated  at 
least  five slots  of a series should receive priority for the allocation of those series in 
the  next  equivalent  scheduling  period  provided  the  air  carrier  entitled  to  them  under 
Article 8(2) and Article 10(2) does not request them. 

The  imposition  of  specific  COVID-19  sanitary  measures  at  airports  may  reduce 
available  capacity,  which  may  make  it  necessary  to  provide  for  specific  COVID-19 
coordination  parameters.  In  such  situations,  and  in  order  to  enable  the  proper 
application of such parameters, coordinators should be empowered to adapt the timing 
of slots allocated to air carriers under Article 8 or cancel such slots for the scheduling 
period during which the specific COVID-19 sanitary measures apply. 

(10)  The  negative  consequences  of  possible  measures  by  public  authorities  restricting  the 
ability to travel at very short notice cannot be imputed to air carriers and should thus 
be  mitigated.  Therefore,  air  carriers  should  not  be  penalised  for  failure  to  use  slots 
where  such  failure  results  from  such  restrictive  measures  which  had  not  yet  been 
published when the slots were allocated. Under such circumstances, air carriers should 
remain entitled to such series in the next equivalent scheduling season. Such measures 
could include, by way of example, severe government restrictions related to COVID-
19 on the maximum number of arriving or departing passengers on a specific flight or 
through  a  specific  airport,  or  measures  which  make  the  operation  of  an  air  service 
practically  or  technically  impossible  through  the  imposition  of  restrictions  on  airline 

5 

Council Regulation (EEC) No 95/93 of 18 January 1993 on common rules for the allocation of slots at 
Community airports (OJ L 14, 22.1.1993, p. 1). 

EN 

9 

  EN 

                                                 
crew  movements  or  on  the  availability  of  services  essential  to  support  directly  the 
operation of an  air service. Specific relief  from  the effects of the imposition of such 
measures should be restricted to a maximum of two consecutive scheduling periods. 

(11)  Air  carriers  should  be  relieved,  to  the  necessary  extent,  from  the  requirements 
regarding  slot  utilisation,  relevant  to  the  entitlement  to  slots  in  the  subsequent 
equivalent scheduling period, during periods where demand is significantly impacted 
due to the effect of COVID-19 pandemic. This should enable them to increase services 
when circumstances allow. The lower minimum usage rate fixed to this effect should 
take into account the current air traffic outlook, which is at 50% of 2019 traffic levels, 
the  uncertainty  surrounding  the  COVID-19  pandemic  and  the  return  of  consumer 
confidence  and  traffic  levels.  However,  given  the  perspective  of  traffic  levels  re-
increasing at one point, it should be possible to amend the minimum usage rate by way 
of Delegated Acts. Air carriers and coordinators should be enabled to engage in time 
into the necessary preparations, in view of the conditions to be applied to the operation 
of slots in a given scheduling period. Therefore, the Commission should endeavour to 
adopt the Delegated Act as early as possible and should adopt such acts in any event 
before the deadline for the return of slots as laid down in Article 10(3). 

(12)  To minimise entry barriers and prevent that the relief from the general slot utilisation 
requirements negatively impacts the competitive position of air carriers beyond what 
is justified, the application of the relief should be restricted to those slots which the air 
carrier had previously operated at  the airports  concerned. Similarly, the  relief should 
not  apply  to  slots  which have been exchanged as part of  a commercial arrangement, 
giving rise to monetary or other compensation, between carriers not part of the same 
group. 

(13) 

In  order  to  respond  flexibly,  where  necessary  and  justified,  to  the  challenges  the  air 
transport sector is facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the power to adopt acts in 
accordance with Article 290 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should 
be  delegated  to  the  Commission  to  amend  Regulation  (EEC)  No  95/93  in  respect  of 
the prolongation of the period of application of the relief from the slot utilisation rule 
envisaged by this Regulation. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry 
out  appropriate  consultations  during  its  preparatory  work,  including  at  expert  level, 
and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down 
in  the  Interinstitutional  Agreement  of  13  April  2016  on  Better  Law-Making6.  In 
particular,  to  ensure  equal  participation  in  the  preparation  of  delegated  acts,  the 
European  Parliament  and  the  Council  receive  all  documents  at  the  same  time  as 
Member  States’  experts,  and  their  experts  systematically  have  access  to  meetings  of 
Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts. 

(14)  Airports,  airport  services  providers  and  air  carriers  need  to  have  visibility  over 
available capacity for the purpose of adequate planning. Air carriers should make the 
slots whose use is not intended available to the coordinator for possible reallocation as 
early  as  possible  and  no  later  than  three  weeks  before  the  planned  date  of  their 
operation.  They  should  be  made  subject  to  appropriate  sanctions  or  equivalent 
measures in case of non-compliance. 

(15)  Where a coordinator is satisfied that an air carrier has ceased operations at an airport, 
the coordinator should immediately withdraw the slots from the air carrier in question 
and place them in the pool for reallocation to other carriers. 

6 

OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1. 

EN 

10 

  EN 

                                                 
(16) 

In  view  of  the  urgency  entailed  by  the  exceptional  circumstances  related  to  the 
COVID-19  pandemic  justifying  the  measures  set  out  in  this  Regulation,  it  is 
considered  to  be  appropriate  to  provide  for  an  exception  to  the  eight-week  period 
referred  to  in  Article  4  of  Protocol  No  1  on  the  role  of  national  Parliaments  in  the 
Union, annexed to the Treaty on European Union, to the Treaty on the Functioning of 
the  European  Union  and  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Atomic  Energy 
Community. 

(17) 

In  view  of  the  urgency  entailed  by  the  exceptional  circumstances  related  to  the 
COVID-19  pandemic  justifying  the  proposed  measures,  it  is  considered  to  be 
appropriate to provide for an immediate entry into force of this Regulation, 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 

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

(1) Article 2 is amended as follows: 

(a) the following point (ba) is inserted: 

‘(ba) during the period referred to in Article 10a(2a) '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 seven 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 European Union airports, where at most two other air carriers operate the same 
non-stop scheduled service between those airports on that day, and where, if the air carrier's 
request  were  accepted,  the  air  carrier  would  nonetheless  hold  fewer  than  nine  slots  at  that 
airport on that day for that non-stop service. 

An air carrier which together with its parent company, its own subsidiaries or the subsidiaries 
of its parent company, holds more than 10% of the total slots allocated on the day in question 
at a particular airport, shall not be considered as a new entrant at that airport;’; 

(b) point (m) is replaced by the following: 

‘(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 sub-systems;’; 

(c) the following point (n) is added: 

‘(n)  ‘COVID-19  coordination  parameters’  shall  mean  revised  coordination  parameters 
resulting  in  a  reduction  of  available  airport  capacity  at  a  coordinated  airport  because  of 
specific  sanitary  measures  imposed  by  Member  States  in  response  to  the  COVID-19 
pandemic.’; 

(2) Article 8 is amended as follows: 

(a) the following paragraph 2a is inserted: 

‘2a. During the period referred to in Article 10a(2a), a series of slots which is returned to the 
slot pool in accordance with Article 8(1) at the end of the scheduling period (the “reference 
scheduling  period”),  shall,  upon  request,  be  allocated  for  the  next  equivalent  scheduling 

EN 

11 

  EN 

period to an air carrier which has operated at least five slots of the series in question following 
the application of Article 10a(7) during the reference scheduling period. 

In  the  event  that  more  than  one  applicant  fulfils  the  requirements  of  the  first  subparagraph, 
priority  shall  be  given  to  the  air  carrier  having  operated  the  greater  number  of  slots  of  that 
series.’; 

(b) the following paragraph 6a is inserted: 

‘6a. Within the period during which COVID-19 coordination parameters apply and in order to 
enable the proper application of such coordination parameters, the coordinator may amend the 
timing  of  requested  or  allocated  slots  falling  within  the  period  specified  in  paragraph  2a  of 
Article  10a  or  cancel  them  after  hearing  the  air  carrier  concerned.  In  this  context,  the 
coordinator shall take into account additional rules and guidelines referred to in Article 8(5), 
under the conditions set out therein.’; 

(3) Article 10(4) is amended as follows: 

(a) point (d) is replaced by the following: 

‘(d)  judicial  proceedings  concerning  the  application  of  Article  9  for  routes  where  public 
service  obligations  have  been  imposed  according  to  Article  4  of  Regulation  (EEC)  No 
2408/92 resulting in the temporary suspension of the operation of such routes;’; 

(b) the following point (e) is added: 

‘(e) during the period referred to in Article 10a(2a), the introduction, after 31 January for the 
following  summer  season  or  after  31  August  for  the  following  winter  season,  by  public 
authorities of measures intended to address the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic at one end 
of a route for which the slots in question were used or planned to be used, on condition that 
the measures had not been published at the time the series of slots had been allocated and that 
the measures lead to either of the following: 

–  a  partial  or  total  closure  of  the  border,  airport  or  airspace  during  a  substantial  part  of  the 
relevant scheduling period, 

–  a  severe  impediment  to  passengers’  ability  to  travel  with  any  carrier  on  that  direct  route 
during a substantial part of the relevant scheduling period.’ 

(c) the following subparagraphs are added: 

‘Point (e) of the first subparagraph shall apply  within the period during which the measures 
referred to therein apply and during six additional weeks, within the limits referred to in the 
third,  fourth  and  fifth  subparagraphs.  However,  where  the  measure  referred  to  in  point  (e) 
ceases to apply less than six weeks before the end of a scheduling period, point (e) shall apply 
to  the  remainder  of  the  six  weeks  period  only  where  the  slots  in  the  subsequent  scheduling 
period are used for the same route. 

Point (e) of the first subparagraph shall only apply to slots used for routes for which they were 
already used prior to the publication of the measures referred to in point (e). 

Point (e) of the first subparagraph shall cease to apply where the air carrier, using the slots in 
question, changes to a route not affected by the measures of the public authorities. 

Point  (e)  of  the  first  subparagraph  shall  apply  for  at  most  two  consecutive  scheduling 
periods.’; 

(4) Article 10a is amended as follows: 

(a) paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: 

EN 

12 

  EN 

‘1. 
For the purposes  of  Articles 8(2) and  Article 10(2), coordinators shall  consider slots 
allocated for the period from 1 March 2020 until 27 March 2021 as having been operated by 
the air carrier to which they were initially allocated.’; 

(b) the following paragraph 2a is inserted: 

In  respect  of  the  period  from  28  March  2021  until  30  October  2021  and  for  the 
‘2a. 
purposes of Article 8(2) and Article 10(2), if an air carrier demonstrates 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 40% of the time during the scheduling period for 
which it has been allocated, the air carrier shall be entitled to the same series of slots for the 
next equivalent scheduling period. 

In respect of the period referred to in the first subparagraph, the percentage values referred to 
in Article 10(4) and point (a) of 14(6) shall be 40%.’; 

(c) paragraph 3 is replaced by the following: 

In respect of slots with a date between 9 April 2020 and 27 March 2021, paragraph 1 
‘3. 
shall only apply where the air carrier returned the relevant unused slots to the coordinator for 
reallocation to other air carriers.’; 

(d) the following paragraph 3a is inserted: 

‘3a. 

Paragraph 2a shall not apply: 

(a) 
in respect of a series of slots allocated to an air carrier for a given scheduling period, 
where that carrier had not been allocated the same series of slots for the previous equivalent 
scheduling period; 

(b) 
in respect of a series of slots which, with effect from the scheduling period in question, 
have  been  exchanged  between  air  carriers  in  accordance  with  point  (c)  of  Article  8a(1)  and 
where the exchange has included monetary or any other kind of compensation.’; 

(e) paragraph 4 is replaced by the following: 

‘4.  Where the Commission finds, on the basis of data published by Eurocontrol, which is 
the network manager for the air traffic network functions of the single European sky, that the 
reduction  in  the  level  of  air  traffic  as  compared  to  the  level  in  the  corresponding  period  in 
2019  is  persisting  and,  on  the  basis  of  Eurocontrol  traffic  forecasts,  is  likely  to  persist,  and 
also finds, on the basis of the best available scientific data, that this situation is the result of 
the  impact  of  the  COVID-19  pandemic,  the  Commission  shall  adopt  delegated  acts  in 
accordance with Article 12a to amend the period specified in paragraph 2a accordingly. 

The  Commission  is  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts  in  accordance  with  Article  12a  to 
amend the percentage values referred to in paragraph 2a of this Article within a range between 
0  and  80%.  For  this  purpose,  the  Commission  shall  consider  changes  intervening  since  the 
entry into force of Regulation (EU) [2021/XXX reference to the present Regulation], having 
regard to the following elements:  

(a) data published by Eurocontrol on traffic levels and traffic forecasts; 

(b) the evolution of air traffic trends during the scheduling periods, also taking into account 
the evolution observed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic; and 

(c)  indicators  relating  to  demand  for  passenger  and  cargo  air  transport,  including  trends 
regarding fleet size, fleet utilisation, and load factors. 

EN 

13 

  EN 

Delegated  acts  pursuant  to  this  paragraph  shall  be  adopted  no  later  than  24  January  for  the 
following  summer  scheduling  period  and  no  later  than  24  August  for  the  following  winter 
scheduling period.’; 

(f) paragraph 5 is deleted; 

(g) the following paragraph 7 is added: 

‘7. 
During the period referred to in paragraph 2a, air carriers shall make available to the 
coordinator for reallocation to other air carriers any slot they do not intend to use, no less than 
three weeks before the date of operation.’; 

(5) in Article 12a, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: 

The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 10a shall be conferred on the 

‘2. 
Commission until 24 August 2024.’; 

(6) Article 14 is amended as follows: 

(a) in paragraph 5, the following subparagraph is added: 

‘Member States shall establish and apply effective, dissuasive and proportionate sanctions or 
equivalent  measures  in  the  event  an  air  carrier  repeatedly  and  intentionally  fails  to  comply 
with Article 10a(7). Such sanctions and measures shall include the possibility to withdraw the 
benefit of Article 10a(2a), where justified by the individual case.’; 

(b) in paragraph 6, the following point (c) is added:  

‘(c)  During the period referred to Article 10a(2a), when a coordinator determines, on the 
basis of information at its disposal, that an air carrier has ceased its operations at an airport 
and  is  no  longer  able  to  operate  the  slots  which  it  has  been  allocated,  the  coordinator  shall 
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.’. 

This  Regulation  shall  enter  into  force  on  the  day  following  that  of  its  publication  in  the 
Official Journal of the European Union. 

Article 2 

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 

EN 

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  EN