Asian carriers oppose EU plans to force airlines to start using take-off and landing slots frozen during the pandemic
Sydney — Regulators in Asian hubs such as Singapore and Hong Kong have threatened to retaliate against EU plans to force airlines to start using take-off and landing slots frozen during the coronavirus pandemic, a move that could oblige Europe’s carriers to fly empty seats for thousands of kilometres at a loss.
“Is it a trade war? Certainly the germ of one,” said former Australian aviation negotiator Peter Harbison, chair emeritus of the Sydney-based CAPA Centre for Aviation consultancy. But while the EU decision reflects a traffic recovery that is well under way in Europe’s mainly short-haul market, Asian carriers are protesting they will be unfairly penalised because their long-haul networks will take much longer to recover.
Cathay Pacific last month warned publicly that the slower recovery in Hong Kong meant it risked losing prized overseas airport slots and harming the city’s hub status. “We’re no longer in immediate shock phase,” said Aidan Flanagan, safety and capacity manager at Airports Council International Europe. “We are now in a situation where the market is stable with much lower levels than what we were in 2019, but it’s stable.”
René Maysokolua, MD of German airport slot manager Fluko, said his organisation had been informed that some Asian countries were telling European airlines they would need to fly 50% of the time or risk losing their slots in retaliation for the EU rules.
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