Slots: Busy airports reach capacity limits

The slot allocation rules have enabled airlines to enter congested airports and grow their networks at very constrained aerodromes, creating more consumer choice, writes, WOLE SHADARE

Slots necessity

In a world of constrained airports, the slot system is a necessary framework through which airlines and airports can get the maximum reliable punctual operation of flights.

For example, the number of European routes with more than one airline operating has increased by 37% since 2012 with many airports reaching their physical capacity limits

Airlines want to plan timetables and operate reliably for their operational efficiency and the benefit of customers. It is a long, hard sweat for an airline to decide where it should fly, the best type of aircraft to fly, and the best time of day or the number of frequencies it should operate.

Airlines have to piece together a jigsaw of the slots they hold or slots they are seeking to obtain so that they fit together. That gets even more complicated if they need slots at the airports at both ends of the route.

So, airlines need certainty around the slot rules if they are to do that reliably, and from a customer point of view, they want to know that it can be counted on each time they travel.

Examining fairness

Aviation consultant and Visiting Professor in airline business strategy at Coventry University and Visiting Fellow at Cranfield University, John Strickland said the slot system is fair because it is administered by an independent body, slot coordinator, explaining that, “It is not the airlines or the airports that decide what happens with slots. The system is broadly adopted around the world to ensure that fairness prevails.”

Airlines according to him have to operate slots 80% of their theoretical maximum for each summer or winter season, hinting that provided they do that, they can use the slots again the following year in the same season.

Grandfather rights

Those ‘grandfather rights’ mean that airlines can have confidence in continuity. The 80% threshold is a pretty high benchmark for airlines to have to fly and an independent coordination body at a particular airport will monitor the use of all slots to see if that threshold is observed.

Arik caught in slot web

In 2013, Nigeria’s international airline business was tested under the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) Nigeria has with the United Kingdom.

To recall the incident that played out, Arik Air which was at the height of its success was designated on international routes such as New York, Johannesburg, London, Dubai, Angola, and other routes. The carrier dominated West Africa and domestic airline operations.

The carriers’ fortune was helped with the acquisition of brand new airplanes like B737-700, 800, wide-body A330s, and A340. The airlines controlled more than 60% of the domestic airline traffic and its investment in many more airplanes stood it out.

Infact, it was the first time that a Nigerian businessman would acquire what was then known as ‘Tear Rubber” aircraft after the demise of Nigeria Airways. Not a few looked forward to Arik effectively replacing and burying the ghost of the liquidated national carrier.

In 2013, trouble started when the UK airport slot system rules caught up with the Nigerian carrier as it was about to be kicked out of Heathrow Airport for lack of payment for the slot it enjoyed. This however ruffled diplomatic feathers between Nigeria and the UK as the country kicked over the decision arguing that BASA comes with slot allocation and must be respected.

The UK on the other hand disagreed and equivocally stated that the government had no hand in slot allocation, especially for a busy airport like Heathrow but that of the airport management company.

Nigeria threatened and in retaliation vowed to bar British Airways from operating to Lagos and Abuja of which the carrier enjoys 14 frequencies a week while Arik had just seven weekly flights. The Minister of Aviation then, Stella Oduah had given the UK-based carrier a very unfavourable time of landing and departure in Abuja and Lagos which many considered to be punitive as it would do incalculable damage to its operation.

A former Country Manager for BA at that time, Mr. Kola Olayinka’s managerial skills and that of his team were tested. They looked at the situation and resolved it. The carrier had 72 hours to shut down its operations in the country before the matter was resolved at the highest making of the government. BA was left off the hook while Arik could not continue because of the huge costs for slots and after some time it pulled out of the lucrative route because it was clear that for Heathrow and many other busy airports, slot system rules.

Threat from NCAA

A former Director-General of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt Musa Nuhu had in 2021 in the face of a spat between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over Air Peace threatened that Nigeria would introduce the slot system for foreign airlines.

He said that the system would eliminate unfair commercial advantage in the implementation of BASA with other countries, stressing that some countries were deploying the slot systems as a ploy to undermine Nigerian airlines.

He said, “If you tell me that a particular airline cannot go to Heathrow because you cannot get slots, then, their airlines too cannot come into Lagos because of slot issues. If you tell me that a particular airline from Nigeria must pay, for instance, 100, 000 pounds to operate to Heathrow, then, their airline will have to pay the same amount of money to operate to Lagos. It is going to be reciprocity”.

‘We cannot hide under the issue of slots to give an unfair advantage to foreign airlines over Nigerian airlines. We have made mistakes in the past, we have learned from our mistakes and we are going to correct them”, he had said.

Understanding the issue

Beyond the issues of politics and blowing hot and cold by policymakers in Nigeria, it is imperative to under the reasons for slot systems in extremely busy airports.

Many of the airports in Africa aside from Cairo International Airport and a very few others are not busy or congested like Heathrow, Atlanta, Dubai, Singapore, and Chicago O’Hare among others.

Africa airports traffic

According to data from Airports Council International (ACI) for 2022, Cairo International Airport topped the list of busy airports in Africa with 20 million passenger traffic in 2022; OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg 14.8 million; Cape Town International Airport 7.9 million; Mohammed V Airport in Casablanca, Morocco 7.6 million; Hurghada International Airport in Egypt 7.2 million; Addis Ababa Bole International Airport in Ethiopia 6.7 million; Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, (JKIA) 6.56 million passenger record; Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos 6.53 million. Most of its passengers were domestic.

Alger Houari Boumédiene Airport in Algeria processed 6.3 million passengers and Nigeria’s  Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in the capital Abuja processed nearly 6 million passengers in 2022 to round out Africa’s ten busiest airports. Most of the passengers were domestic.

The Director-General of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Willie Walsh told Aviation Metric that the air transport industry thrives on consistent global standards, describing the World Airport Slot Guidelines (WASG) as the unsung hero of the air transport system.

“Because of the WASG, travelers, businesses, and economies the world over have benefitted from constant growth in air connectivity, strong competition, and route diversity while ensuring that utilization of scarce airport capacity also increased. Governments should align their slot rules with this global standard to benefit from better air connectivity, efficiency, and consumer choice.”

Last line

Planning air services is a painstaking piece of work. The global slot rules underpin growing connectivity, increased airport utilization, and more competition.

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