by The slot system used by airports and aviation regulators to allow airlines to use runways, gates and terminals at a specific time on a specific date sounds about as interesting as waiting for your luggage to arrive at the roundabout at T5 . Nothing could be further from the truth. Just look at the headlines.
“Eco fury at BA ‘ghost flights’ scandal,” The Telegraph reported. British Mediterranean Airways, which operates as a British Airways franchise, spent £2 million on empty passenger planes flying between Heathrow and Cardiff, it revealed. Recently The Guardian went further. “5,000 empty ‘ghost flights’ in UK since 2019, data shows,” it declared on its front page. He added: “A further 35,000 flights have operated almost empty, with climate campaigners saying the revelations were “understandable”.
Slots are the most valuable assets in aviation, especially in Britain where our major airports are under so much pressure. Heathrow is almost 100 per cent capacity. Airlines will do almost anything to hold onto them. To keep their slots, carriers must use them at least 80 percent of the time, which is where the ghost flights come in.
Sometimes demand drops but airlines want to keep slots, so they fly empty or near empty planes – although carriers insist this is rare. Sometimes they cannot use their slots, for example due to war. Neither British Airways nor Virgin Atlantic fly to Tel Aviv these days. But it’s not always immediately clear whether an airline needs to continue using the slot on, say, another route, to satisfy the “use it or lose it” rules. Slots are “neutral on the way”.
The conflict sparked the infamous BA Heathrow to Cardiff ghost flights, for which no tickets were sold, the 124 seats on the Airbus jet were empty, and the flights did not appear on arrival or departure boards. The airline came up with the plan after it ended flights to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, following civil unrest there but wanted to keep the slot.
Could the slot system work better for airlines, passengers and the environment? The government thinks so. Last week he announced plans to reform the regime. Aviation Minister Anthony Browne wants to “restrict large airline monopolies at certain airports, boost competition and lower fares”.
Banning slot leasing will prevent major airlines from “monopopulating slots at certain airports and ensure that they can be allocated to competitors if they are not being used frequently enough”. He says, “this will help newer carriers or smaller carriers that offer cheaper fares get more favorable slots”. He claims: “Increasing opportunities for new airlines will encourage more competition and drive productivity between airlines.”
He also wants to ensure that regulators and airlines act faster in response to crises, such as war, to clarify that airlines can keep their slots without using them, “making the industry more resilient and efficient in times of uncertainty”.
Will Browne’s reforms work? One man who knows the International Air Transport Association, John Middleton, a man nicknamed “the slot man” by his colleagues at the organization’s headquarters in Geneva. He points out that the congested nature of Britain’s airports means there is intense competition among airlines for slots that promote their efficient use. But a review could improve services for passengers in what he calls “the three Cs” – certainty, connectivity and competition.
To be sure, regulators may be quicker to tell airlines that they can vacate slots due to war or disruption. “Passengers need, and deserve, to know what flights will operate and when as far in advance as possible,” says Middleton.
In terms of connectivity, regulators should better monitor how airlines use slots to ensure they are not cheating the system or operating ghost flights. “We don’t think airlines are monkeying around with slots, flying empty planes, or whatever the allegation is,” he says. “But proper monitoring would quickly reveal the truth”.
In terms of competition, airlines that already operate from an airport must consider a new flight timing if one becomes available. So, if an 11am slot from Heathrow to New York JFK becomes available, say, BA or Virgin Atlantic will probably get it. Newcomers cannot try when the incumbents have a chance to seize the new time. This should change. “Competition is strong in the UK. See how EasyJet has become dominant at Gatwick. But a tweak on the edge could help new entrants get in and compete a little faster than they already do,” says Middleton.
If the review works as Browne intended, passengers could see more service reliability, new entrants and lower fares but there are limits, according to Middleton. The biggest problem facing UK airports is not how slots are organized but the number of slots. “Airports in the UK do not have enough capacity to meet the huge need for consumer choice. Slot reform means we can get better at sharing the piece. But at the end of the day, the question is: is there enough of a pie?”
The biggest improvement to air travel would come from a third runway at Heathrow, which would enable EasyJet, for example, to operate from a UK hub and Virgin to possibly resume short-haul services. A second runway at Gatwick would also help; Gatwick is applying to use an existing emergency airstrip as a second runway. However, Heathrow’s chances of getting a third runway remain as long as ever.
