Close Menu
    Latest Category
    • Finance
    • Tech
    • EU Law
    • Energy
    • About
    • Contact
    EUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politicsEUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politics
    Login
    • EU News
    • Focus
    • Guides
    • Press
    • Jobs
    • Events
    • Directory
    EUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politicsEUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politics
    Home » New COVID-19 slot relief to help EU airlines

    New COVID-19 slot relief to help EU airlines

    npsBy nps29 January 2021 No Comments2 Mins Read
    — Filed under: airlines EU News Headline1 Tourism
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email
    New COVID-19 slot relief to help EU airlines

    Airplanes – Photo Africaspotter

    (BRUSSELS) – The EU announced Thursday it is preparing new temporary rules to help air carriers cope with the drastic decline in air traffic caused by the Coronavirus crisis and avoid operating empty flights.

    Member states’ ambassadors have agreed on a negotiating mandate for granting airlines relief from airport slot use requirements for summer 2021, while taking initial measures to start relaunching the industry and encourage competition. The new rules will also give flexibility to adapt to different scenarios and allow for measures to be taken up to the summer 2022 scheduling period.

    “With COVID-19 still very much around, it would be premature to go back to the old ‘use it or lose it’ rule,” said Portugal’s Portuguese Minister for Infrastructure and Housing Pedro Nuno Santos, for the EU presidency: “The new slot relief provisions strike a balance by providing much-needed help to airlines, encouraging competition in the industry and preparing for a gradual return to normality as soon as that becomes possible, while avoiding ghost flights and reducing emissions.”

    Eurocontrol figures indicate a continued year-on-year fall in air traffic of around 74% as from mid-June 2020.

    Under the general EU airport slot requirements, airlines must use at least 80% of their take-off and landing slots in order to keep them the following year. The Council text grants airlines the possibility to return 50% of their slot series but expects them to use at least 50% of the remaining slots.

    The Commission will be empowered to adopt delegated acts for one year to cover the following two seasons. With these acts, the Commission may change the minimum utilisation rate to between 30% and 70%. This grants the necessary flexibility to adapt to different air traffic levels based on traffic data and forecasts and other indicators.

    Both the Council and the European Parliament will need to agree on the final text.

    The negotiations between the co-legislators on the proposal are being held as a matter of urgency, with a view to having the new rules in place in time for the start of the summer 2021 season on 28 March 2021.

    Draft regulation amending regulation 95/93 as regards temporary relief from the slot utilisation rules at Community airports due to the COVID-19 pandemic – Council mandate

    Regulation 95/93 on common rules for the allocation of slots at Community airports

    Add A Comment
    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    You must be logged in to post a comment.

    nps
    • Website

    Related Content

    EED logo

    Deputy Communications Manager, European Endowment for Democracy, EED

    Climate change - Image by Satheesh Sankaran from Pixabay

    Member States agree to crush EU corporate sustainability rules

    Sponsor: WWF EU24 June 2025
    Election vote - Photo © European Union 2025 - source EP

    EU strengthens rules on voting in European elections when abroad

    Sad dog - Photo by Design Wala on Unsplash

    MEPs propose stricter rules on dog and cat welfare

    The leaders of the EU and Canada have signed a landmark Security and Defence Partnership to strengthen Canada's contribution to Europe's defence architecture.

    EU and Canada sign security and defence partnership

    Work from home - Photo by Corinne Kutz on Unsplash

    Adapting Communication Models to Suit the Hybrid Workforce

    LATEST EU NEWS
    Election vote - Photo © European Union 2025 - source EP

    EU strengthens rules on voting in European elections when abroad

    24 June 2025
    Sad dog - Photo by Design Wala on Unsplash

    MEPs propose stricter rules on dog and cat welfare

    24 June 2025
    The leaders of the EU and Canada have signed a landmark Security and Defence Partnership to strengthen Canada's contribution to Europe's defence architecture.

    EU and Canada sign security and defence partnership

    24 June 2025
    Euro - ECB-Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

    Israel Iran ceasefire sees dollar dumped – Euro currency news daily

    24 June 2025
    Kaja Kallas - Photo - © European Union 2025

    EU, Germany, France and the UK urge restraint

    22 June 2025

    Subscribe to EUbusiness Week

    Get the latest EU news

    CONTACT INFO

    • EUbusiness Ltd 117 High Street, Chesham Buckinghamshire, HP5 1DE United Kingdom
    • +44(0)20 8058 8232
    • service@eubusiness.com

    INFORMATION

    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Info

    Services

    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms
    • EU News

    SOCIAL MEDIA

    Facebook
    eubusiness.com © EUbusiness Ltd 2025

    Design and developed by : 

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    Sign In or Register

    Welcome Back!

    Login to your account below.

    Lost password?