Slot Trading: The New Proposal Of The European Commission

On 1st December 2011, the European Commission adopted a comprehensive package of measures whose declared aim is, among others, to address capacity shortage at European airports. The so called “better airports” package covers three main areas: slots, ground handling, and noise.

This article focuses on the proposed recognition of a secondary market for slots and presents the evolution of the Commission’s position on this topic since the adoption of Regulation No. 95/93 on common rules for the allocation of slots.

If the overall proposal of the Commission on slots has been partially criticized by the associations of airlines, the recognition of a secondary market for slots has been welcomed by the entire industry as a definite step forward that would favor decongestion of heavily congested European airports.

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