IATA considers EU proposal to revert to pre-pandemic slot rules ” premature”.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) expressed concern over the EU’s proposal to return next winter to pre-pandemic slot rules. In the organisation’s view, this “premature” move could “cause disruption to passengers”. The European Commission wants to return to the old 80-20 rule, requiring airlines to operate at least 80% of each planned sequence.

In this regard, IATA general director Willie Walsh recalled that the chaos experienced by some airports during the summer is occurring with a slot utilisation of 64%. Walsh expressed the association’s concern about the possibility that airports will not be ready to handle the 80% by the end of October. He therefore called on the European authorities to come up with a realistic proposal to allow flexibility in slot usage rules.