Tighter management of airport slots is not enough to reverse a chronic lack of capacity in Europe, aviation bodies have said in response EU proposals.
The European Commission (EC) published plans to raise the threshold on the “use it or lose it rule” from 80 per cent to 85 per cent.
It means airlines will have to fly more flights annually to be guaranteed retention of their slot at an airport.
Some airlines in the past have resorted to flying near empty planes to retain their slots, when not enough passengers have booked.
The proposals also include the introduction of market based mechanisms for the trading of slots between airlines, which would mean closer monitoring of slot sales.
Siim Kallas, the EC’s VP and commissioner responsible for transport, said the measures were needed because Europe’s airports are “facing a capacity crunch”.
“On present trends, 19 key European airports will be full to bursting by 2030,” he said. “The resulting congestion could mean delays for half of all flights across the network.”
Kallas said changes were needed now: “Faced with intense global competition, if we do not change the way we do business, we may not be doing business at all.”
Mike Ambrose, director general of the European Regions Airline Association (ERA), said the EC had “missed an opportunity”.
“No modification to the existing regulations on slots will ever create the capacity that is required to stimulate economic recovery within Europe,” he said.
While Ambrose said it was down to independent governments to act on increasing airport capacity, he said the EC could better encourage and facilitate it.
Tony Tyler, IATA’s CEO, agreed the proposals were not enough: “Regulation of existing capacity is not in itself a solution to providing the efficient infrastructure with sufficient capacity to meet Europe’s growing demand.”
He accused governments of “dragging their feet” and said the European air transport sector is “structurally weak”.
Tyler welcomed the plans to start a slot trading scheme, however, saying it would provide “transparent rules for a practice that has become widespread”.