Airport Slot Allocation. Enhancing and Unlocking the Value of Time.

Since the civil aviation era began, air transport has grown steadily. Each year, we observe an increase in passengers and goods moved by air, the opening of new airports, and the establishment of new air carriers. This progress has been made possible, among other factors, by new technologies (more efficient aircraft and engines), improved procedures (enhanced air traffic management efficiency), and a deregulation process that started in the US at the end of the 1970s. This was later adopted in Europe alongside liberalisation, which also increased competition. The entire air transport system is a combination of technical and legal rules (and regulations) that now enable us to fly safely, punctually, in almost any weather, and at affordable prices. One of the elements in this image is an airport slot, defined as “permission given by a coordinator for a planned operation to use the full range of airport infrastructure necessary to arrive or depart at an airport on a specific date and time.” In these terms, it is clear how important it is to regulate slot allocation, as this vital process greatly influences air transportation. Within the European context, the rules for slot allocation are outlined in the European Council Regulation 95/93 (the Regulation). In brief, the slot allocation process under this Regulation is based on certain principles that favour the historically established users (“grandfather’s rule”), compel users to utilise their slots (“use-or-lose-it rule”), provide limited incentives for competition (new entrants), and are primarily guided by an administrative decision-making approach with no economic foundation, apart from the option of secondary trading. Furthermore, the above Regulation does not consider (due to its “age”) the realignment of the slot allocation process with modern issues such as airspace and airport congestion, rising demand, environmental sustainability (both air transport and airport infrastructure), innovative air mobility, and so on. It is evident to these authors that the subject of this paper has intrigued many scholars from diverse backgrounds. Several suggestions for amendments (and reform) have been explored, and the slot issue remains a worldwide concern (IATA, WASG, Edition 3, 2023). At the same time, it is also clear that, after thirty years, the regulatory framework on slot allocation should be revised based on the lessons learned, and that alongside safety and cost-efficiency, environmental sustainability should also be recognised as an emerging issue to consider. Conversely, accelerating certain areas within the aviation industry has introduced the risk of conflicts with various branches of aviation regulation that do not progress in tandem or struggle to align all stakeholders. The paper aims to highlight the critical issues arising from EC Reg. 95/93 concerning the regulation of a scarce resource caused by excessive demand, the bottlenecks created by the same Regulation, and inefficiencies in exploitation.