The United Kingdom Government has joined calls for the EU to relax slot restrictions at European airports. The calls come as a sharp decrease in air travel demand has led to carriers operating empty flights to protect their slots.

Slots at airports such as Heathrow are tightly controlled. They are hard to get hold of and can be hard to keep too. For this reason, carriers are able to sell them for huge markups. For example, Air New Zealand recently sold its pair of Heathrow slots for $27 million as it looks to scrap its London route later this year.

UK Government joins calls

The United Kingdom government has now joined the calls of airlines and industry bodies to relax slot restrictions. This is something that the European Union currently administers. The UK's Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps, today wrote to the European Commission regarding the issue.

In his letter, Mr Shapps argued that the situation is "is leading to the prospect of international 'ghost planes' carrying few passengers on board. An outcome which is both problematic for the airlines and needlessly damaging to our environment."

He then urged the Commission to take action, stating,

"I am writing to urge the Commission to act by introducing practical and proportionate measures which would allow flexibility and adaptability to respond as the picture develops."

Why should the EU act?

Coronavirus was one of the topics of the day at last week's Airlines For Europe conference in Brussels. Back then, airline CEOs, such as Willie Walsh of IAG and Carsten Spohr of Lufthansa, were already calling for the slot restrictions to be lifted.

While there are a number of reasons why slot restrictions should be lifted, one is far more important than the others: the environment. Shapps puts it best saying that taking no action "would be entirely out of step with both the United Kingdom's and the European Union's climate commitments."

Ghost flights aren't good

Airlines are, in some cases, being forced to keep operating near-empty flights in order to safeguard their slots. This is due to what is commonly known as the "use it or lose it" rule. However, this is both damaging to airlines and the environment.

Slot Restrictions, Heathrow Airport, European Commission
Airlines are being forced to run almost empty flights to safeguard their slots. Photo: Heathrow Airport

From an airline standpoint, it is a loss either way. If the airline cancels flights it risks losing its slots. If it carries on flights, it is operating uneconomically, wasting money to move empty aircraft.

However, one must also consider the environment. The aviation industry is taking huge steps to try and cut its carbon footprint. Forcing it to continue to operate empty flights is hugely irresponsible from an environment.

Simple Flying contacted IAG, owner of Heathrow's biggest carrier British Airways, for comment. They told us,

“We support the call made by both IATA and Airlines For Europe to alleviate the 80/20 slot rule”.

Do you think the European Union should lift slot restrictions? Let us know why in the comments!