Airport slots for next season to be based on this season's usage: Govt

Airlines will be able to secure airport slots in India for the next season only when they are able to use them for more than 80 per cent of time during the current season, the civil aviation ministry said on Thursday in its proposed change to guidelines.

The aviation market has two seasons: summer (April to September) and winter (October to March). According to Slot Allocation Guidelines, 2013, an airline is allocated airport slots for a season if it has used it for more than 80 per cent of time in the “previous equivalent season”. Therefore, according to the current guidelines, usage of slots for more than 80 per cent of time in the previous winter season decides whether an airline would get the same slot again in the current winter season.

If the government implements the aforementioned proposed change to the guidelines, the usage of slots for 80 per cent of the time in the ongoing winter season will decide if the same slots would be given to the same airline in subsequent summer season.

A slot is a date and time at which an aircraft is permitted to depart or arrive at an airport. These slots are allocated by a committee that consists of officials from the civil aviation ministry, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), airport operators, and airlines, among others.

Ameya Joshi, aviation analyst and founder of aviation blog ‘Network Thoughts’, said: “In November, the slot utilisation was 86 per cent of the approved schedule, which is significantly higher than the previous season. Yet, there will be a few airlines that are not utilising their slots fully.”

With this proposed change in slot allocation rules, India seems to be moving away from global rules, where summer season is mapped to summer and winter to winter, rather than mapping the slots sequentially, he added.