Landing slot
A landing slot, takeoff slot, or airport slot is a right granted by an airport owner which allows the slot holder to schedule a landing or departure during a specific time period.
Landing slots are allocated in accordance with guidelines set down by the IATA's Worldwide Airport Slots Group. All airports worldwide are categorized as either Level 1 (Non-Coordinated Airport), Level 2 (Schedules Facilitated Airport), or Level 3 (Coordinated Airport).
Allocated landing slots may have a commercial value and can be traded between airlines. Continental Airlines paid $209 million for four pairs of landing slots from GB Airways at London Heathrow Airport, $52.3m each.[1] The highest price paid for a pair of take-off and landing slots at Heathrow Airport was $75m, paid by Oman Air to Air France–KLM for a prized early morning arrival, reported in February 2016. A year before, American Airlines paid $60m to Scandinavian Airlines.[2]
Year | Buyer | Seller | daily slot pairs | transaction (£M) | slot value (£M) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1998 | BA | Air UK | 4 | 15.6 | 3.9 |
2002 | BA | BA Connect | 5 | 13 | 2.6 |
2002 | BA | SN Brussels | 7 | 27.5 | 3.9 |
2003 | BA | SWISS | 8 | 22.5 | 2.8 |
2003 | BA | United | 2 | 12 | 6 |
2004 | Virgin | Flybe | 4 | 20 | 5 |
2004 | Qantas | Flybe | 2 | 20 | 10 |
2006 | BA | BWIA | 1 | 5 | 5 |
2007 | BA | Malev | 2 | 7 | 3.5 |
2007 | BA | BA | 7.3 | 30 | 4.1 |
2007 | Virgin | Air Jamaica | 1 | 5.1 | 5.1 |
2007 | BMI | 77.7 | 770 | 9.9 | |
2007 | unknown | Alitalia | 3 | 67 | 22.3 |
2008 | Continental | GB Airways/Alitalia/Air France | 4 | 104.5 | 26.1 |
2013 | Delta | unknown | 2 | 30.8 | 15.4 |
2013 | Etihad | Jet | 3 | 46.2 | 15.4 |
As demand exceeds supply, slot trading became the main solution to enter Heathrow and transfers grew from 42 in 2000 to 526 in 2012 and over 10 years the average priced slot increased prices by £4 per passenger.[4]
If an airline doesn't use an allocation of slots (typically 80% usage over six months) then it can lose the rights. Airlines may operate ghost or empty flights to preserve slot allocations.[5]
Level 3 Coordinated Airports
Australia
- Adelaide Airport
- Brisbane Airport
- Cairns Airport
- Darwin International Airport
- Gold Coast Airport
- Melbourne Airport
- Perth Airport
- Sydney Airport
Austria
Bangladesh
Belgium
Brazil
Cambodia
Canada
Mainland China
- Beijing Capital International Airport
- Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport
- Shanghai Pudong International Airport
Hong Kong
Czech Republic
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
- Berlin Schönefeld Airport
- Berlin Tegel Airport
- Düsseldorf International Airport
- Frankfurt Airport
- Munich Airport
- Stuttgart Airport
Ghana
Iceland
India
- Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport - Mumbai
- Indira Gandhi International Airport - Delhi
- Bengaluru International Airport - Bangalore
- Rajiv Gandhi International Airport - Hyderabad
- Chennai International Airport - Chennai
- Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport - Kolkata
Indonesia
- Denpasar International Airport
- Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Jakarta
Iran
Ireland
Israel
Italy
- Cagliari Airport
- Catania Airport
- Peretola Airport
- Linate Airport - Milan
- Malpensa Airport - Milan
- Orio al Serio Airport - Milan
- Naples International Airport
- Palermo International Airport
- Ciampino Airport - Rome
- Fiumicino Airport - Rome
- Turin International Airport
- Venice Marco Polo Airport
Japan
Kosovo
Malaysia
Mauritius
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Pakistan
Philippines
Portugal
Russia
Singapore
South Africa
- Cape Town International Airport
- King Shaka International Airport - Durban
- OR Tambo International Airport - Johannesburg
South Korea
Spain
- Alicante Airport
- Barcelona Airport
- Bilbao Airport
- Fuerteventura Airport
- Gran Canaria Airport
- Lanzarote Airport
- Madrid Barajas Airport
- Málaga Airport
- Palma de Mallorca Airport
- Tenerife North Airport
- Tenerife South Airport
Sri Lanka
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
- Suvarnabhumi International Airport - Bangkok
- Don Mueang International Airport - Bangkok
- Phuket International Airport
Turkey
- Istanbul Ataturk International Airport
- Antalya Airport - Antalya
- Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport
- Dalaman International Airport
Ukraine
United Kingdom
- London Gatwick Airport
- London Heathrow Airport
- London Stansted Airport
- Manchester Airport
- London Luton Airport (as of Summer 2013)
United States
- John F. Kennedy International Airport - New York City
- Newark Liberty International Airport - Newark, New Jersey (changes to Level 2 without slot controls on October 30, 2016)[6]
No Level 3 designation, but nevertheless slot controlled:
- LaGuardia Airport - New York City
- Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport - Washington, D.C.
Vietnam
Notes and references
Notes:
- ↑ Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia. The Republic of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence on 17 February 2008, but Serbia continues to claim it as part of its own sovereign territory. The two governments began to normalise relations in 2013, as part of the Brussels Agreement. Kosovo has received recognition as an independent state from 110 out of 193 United Nations member states.
References:
- ↑ "Continental pays Heathrow record". Financial Times. March 3, 2008.
- ↑ "Oman breaks Heathrow record with deal for slots". The Sunday Times. 14 February 2016.
- ↑ "Heathrow Airport's slot machine: hitting the jackpot again?". CAPA centre for aviation. 8 May 2013.
- ↑ "Heathrow Airport: An introduction to Secondary Slot Trading" (PDF). Airport Coordination Limited. 30 September 2012.
- ↑ Green anger at 'ghost flights'
- ↑ "FAA Announces Slot Changes at Newark Liberty International". 1 April 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
- ↑ bloomberg.com - AMR-US Airways Deal Opposed by U.S. in Antitrust Suit
- ↑ "Airport Reservation Office". Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
- ↑ Rfererence material and updated list of coordinated airports - IATA Worldwide Scheduling Guidelines