The Airports Slot Allocation (Alleviation of Usage Requirements) (No. 2) Regulations 2022

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make amendments to retained EU law in the field of aviation, relating to the allocation of slots at congested airports. They amend Council Regulation (EEC) No 95/93 of 18 January 1993 on common rules for the allocation of slots at United Kingdom airports (“the Regulation”), to make provision about the allocation of airport slots to air carriers in respect of specified periods, as a result of a reduction in the level of air traffic as a result of COVID-19.

Under Article 8(2) and 10(2) of the Regulation, air carriers are generally required to return airport slots to the slot coordinator at the end of the scheduling period for which they were allocated, unless they operated the series of slots for a required percentage of the time or the non-utilisation can be justified on the basis of certain reasons listed in Article 10(4). Article 14(6) provides for the slot coordinator to withdraw slots from an air carrier if the carrier cannot achieve the required percentage usage rate.

These Regulations make one change in relation to slots allocated for the remainder of the Summer 2022 scheduling period which runs until 29th October 2022, which will affect reallocation of the same slots for the equivalent scheduling period in 2023. For the purposes of Articles 8(2), 10(2) and 14(6), the slot coordinator will treat airlines as having operated up to 30% of the slots allocated to them at an airport for the period from 9th July 2022 until 29th October 2022, provided the conditions set out in the new Article 10a paragraph 3a are met. These include requirements that the air carrier returned the slots to the coordinator during the period from 25th June until 8th July 2022, and at least 14 days before the date of the slots, for possible reallocation to other air carriers, and notified passengers of the cancellation of the flights at least 14 days in advance.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as it makes provision which is to have effect for a period of less than 12 months. An Explanatory Memorandum has been published alongside this instrument at www.legislation.gov.uk.