We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • ::COVID-19 COVERAGE::
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Change Me
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Change Me
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
Home » IATA welcomes EC efforts to suspend “use it or lose it” rule for airport slots

IATA welcomes EC efforts to suspend “use it or lose it” rule for airport slots

airline image
March 16, 2020
DC Velocity Staff
No Comments

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said Friday that it welcomed efforts by the European Commission (EC) to suspend the “use it or lose it” rule for airport slots through June, but said the move is not enough to help airlines recover from a drastic decline in traffic due to the coronavirus pandemic in the long term.

The “use it or lose it” rule requires airlines to operate a majority of their scheduled flights in order to avoid forfeiting their airport landing slots. IATA and others say relaxing the rule gives airlines more flexibility to plan schedules, redeploy aircraft, and develop strategies for the recovery phase of the coronavirus pandemic, which has decimated the airline industry. Airlines had asked for the rule to be extended until October to cover the entire season.

“The suspension of the slot use rules until June will allow airlines to begin putting in place measures to cope with the unprecedented fall in traffic, but it is a shorter period than airlines had requested,” IATA wrote in its Friday statement. “Airlines need the suspension to be extended to cover the whole season (to October), as other regulators worldwide have already agreed. The EC will therefore need to review the extension request by April 15.”

IATA says a suspension of the rule until October will allow airlines to: 

  • Plan schedules and redeploy aircraft and crew to where demand is highest.

  • Improve economic and environmental sustainability by ensuring that flights for which there is no demand can be cancelled.

  •  Enable more flexibility to plan for the recovery phase and re-introduce capacity where and when needed.

  • Ensure that the industry can return to normal as quickly as possible once the crisis is over.

“Airlines are in crisis. The collapse in demand is unprecedented. And airlines are struggling to match capacity to the fast-changing situation,” Rafael Schvartzman, IATA’s regional vice president for Europe, said in a statement Friday. “The Commission’s decision to suspend slot use rules until June means that airlines can make these critical decisions immediately—without worrying about the impact on future availability of slots. This is much needed and most welcome. However, given all the uncertainties, it is disappointing that the decision does not cover the full season.”

In early March, IATA estimated that airline revenues could fall by nearly 20% if the Covid-19 outbreak is not contained. The estimate was made before the U.S. announcement restricting inbound travelers to the United States from the Schengen area in Europe.

“Airlines are implementing emergency measures under severe cash flow conditions. Along with relaxing slot rules, governments must also consider other forms of emergency relief,” Schvartzman also said in Friday’s statement.   

 

Air Global Logistics Coronavirus Coverage
KEYWORDS coronavirus covid-19 International Air Transport Association (IATA)
  • Related Articles

    Startup BoxLock Closes $4.5 Million Funding Round

    COVID-19 by the Numbers

    Covid-19 fight rocks business world as White House freezes passenger traffic between U.S. and Europe

Recent Articles by DC Velocity Staff

Report: Global TMS revenues to nearly double by 2025

E-commerce fulfillment squeezes retailers’ profit margins, Manhattan Associates says

Logistics-as-a-Service platform expands with $2.5 million funding round

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • IBM survey says digitalization trends will sweep trucking industry by 2030

  • Gartner survey signals increased investment in resilience over the next two years

  • Truck driver hiring pool tightens to lowest point in three years, ACT says

  • What Level of Automation is Right for Your Warehouse?

  • Growing up … and up and up: interview with Sam Bertram

Now Playing on DCV-TV

D92f0dd1 a98c 434a 9e17 30b63ee72c90

Automated Pack-out and Print-Apply System for thredUP

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
SilMan Industries designed and implemented a mixed polybag-carton system, including automated print and apply, in a new regional Fulfillment Center for thredUP, one of the world’s largest online resale platforms for women’s and kids’ apparel, shoes, and accessories.The Situation Secondhand clothing and online...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Using innovation to manage peak seasonal demand

  • Time to rethink your lift truck power

  • Warehouse Management System Project Toolkit

  • Solving Talent Management Challenges Now and In the Future

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2021. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing