Airport group calls for overhaul of global slot allocation rules

Airports Council International World wants the worldwide rules on allocating take-off and landing rights modernised. The group says the system has been in place for more than 50 years and favours established airlines, making competition and market entry harder.

At the 50 most congested airports, ACI says, 67 percent of flights are operated by the four largest carriers at each site.

Pressure to act is growing, the association argues. Within ten years, the number of heavily congested, slot-constrained airports has risen by more than 25 percent. And 85.5 percent of airports handling more than 40 million passengers a year already operate at or close to their capacity limits.

ACI wants decisions about which airlines apply for slots and which receive them to be more transparent, and the rules for using scarce capacity to be more flexible.