The European Commission will extend the freeze on airport slot rules until March 2021, when the drop in air traffic linked to the Covid-19 pandemic promises to be worse than expected, according to forecasts published on Monday.
Read also: Traditional airlines do not see the end of the tunnel
"
I intend to extend the exemption on airport slots for the 2020-2021 season until March 27, 2021
", said European Transport Commissioner Adina Valean, quoted in a press release.
This measure was demanded by the industry to deal with the consequences of the crisis.
European rules provide that airlines must use at least 80% of the slots allocated to them at airports, otherwise they lose their rights the following season.
Their freezing makes it possible to avoid the “
ghost flights
” - lack of passengers - that the companies are forced to carry out to keep their time slots.
This extension is announced at a time when Eurocontrol indicates that the number of passenger flights in Europe will experience a more significant drop than expected.
The European air traffic monitoring body says in a statement that the total number of trips in 2020 will reach six million, a decrease of 55% compared to the previous year.
And a million less than forecast for April, when air travel was at a standstill.
"
It's really worrying for the whole sector,
" said Eamonn Brennan, director of Eurocontrol, in a statement.
"
There is a lack of coordination between states on how to manage air travel despite good guidance from the European Aviation Safety Agency and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control
," he said. declared.
Read also: Low-cost airlines are resisting the crisis
Eurocontrol, which has 41 member states, including all EU countries, is calling for health criteria for determining travel safety to be better harmonized between countries.
The agency welcomes the European Commission's recent proposal to align these rules, but speaks out against general restrictions and quarantine measures.
"
This approach is killing the travel and tourism industry,
" says Brennan.
