Allocation of Airport Slots
Advisory Services
The Situation
The current EU slot allocation system gives airlines "grandfather rights" to the take-off and landing slots they currently use. This allows airlines to hold on to valuable slots, provided they are used at least 80 percent of the time. The European Commission wished to consider the use of market mechanisms in the allocation of airport slots. Market mechanisms would make airlines face a cost that accurately reflected the scarcity of slots. A more efficient allocation of slots, and a more efficient use of airport capacity, would result.
NERA's Role
The European Commission asked NERA to examine the potential impact of using "market mechanisms" (i.e. trading, prices or auctions) to allocate take-off and landing slots at congested European Union (EU) airports.
For five options, featuring different combinations of secondary trading, higher slot prices and auctions, the study:
- estimates the potential change in the mix of traffic using each airport, the improvement in slot utilization and the resulting increase in passenger numbers;
- assesses the likely impact on competition between airlines, on the environment and on services to regional airports; and
- analyzes likely implementation costs, legal implications and compatibility with existing slot scheduling and allocation procedure.
Learn more and download the full report.
