With airport infrastructure unlikely to keep pace with rising demand, IATA has published a White Paper that includes proposals on how slot regulations should incentivise airports to generate more capacity from existing infrastructure.
The number of airports unable to fully meet air connectivity demand and requiring slot coordination using IATA’s Global Airport Slot Guidelines has already risen to almost 400 worldwide. If current trends prevail, this figure could increase by 25% over the next decade.
An example of the serious consequences of this growing problem is evident in Europe, where Airports Council International (ACI) predicts that airport infrastructure will be unable to meet up to 12% of demand by 2050. Since large-scale airport developments, especially new runways, are unlikely to be built due to political constraints, this will further weaken Europe’s competitiveness which, as Draghi’s report concludes , is already far below its expectations. It is therefore vital that airports apply best practices to make the most of the capacity of existing infrastructure.
“The only solution to capacity shortages is construction. But as long as large-scale initiatives such as building new runways or terminals remain politically out of reach in many parts of the world, we must squeeze every last bit of capacity out of the infrastructure we have. Some airports set strict parameters to maximise capacity, but many do not follow the guidelines of the Global Airport Slot Guidelines,” said Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President, Operations, Safety and Security.
The recently published IATA White Paper on Airport Slots calls for stricter obligations on airports to maximise capacity.
“Under slot regulations, airlines are required to use the slots they are granted efficiently or face penalties for cancelling flights or failing to operate as planned. But airports face no penalties if they fail to deliver on promised capacity. They are under little pressure to meet global efficiency benchmarks. In addition, there is often insufficient transparency in the capacity declarations they make. This requires a major rebalancing so that airports and airlines are equally obliged to maximise the potential social and economic value of airport capacity,” said Careen.
Specifically, IATA is calling for changes to slot regulations that would hold airports accountable if they are not doing enough to create more capacity, including:
Require airports to regularly review their capacity statements and implement a meaningful capacity consultation process to ensure greater transparency and reveal where potential capacity increases are being overlooked.
Obligations to improve and increase capacity where possible, based on global best practices.
Consequences if declared capacity is not delivered as promised.
“Current airport slot regulations have helped create a global air transport network that offers ever-increasing connectivity, more choice for consumers and lower fares. For the slot system to continue to increase these benefits, we need performance obligations for airports. Stronger regulation is needed to close the huge gap between the best and the mediocre airports in terms of delivery capacity. This will better serve passengers with greater accessibility to air transport and bring more benefits to the world,” said Careen.
Source: IATA.