BA, Easyjet and BAA face Lords on landing slot allocations
19 March 2012
Airline operators, airport owners and aviation regulators face questions from the House of Lords EU Sub-Committee on the Internal Market as it scrutinises European proposals for the allocation of landing slots at European Union airports.
- Parliament TV: Airport slot allocation
- Lords EU Sub-Committee B - Internal Market, Energy and Transport
On Monday 19 March, the Sub-Committee took evidence as part of its enhanced scrutiny of proposals on landing slot allocations that form part of the European Commission’s "Better Airports Package".
With air traffic predicted by EUROCONTROL's long-term forecast of flight movements to almost double by 2030, the Committee want to find out if the proposals are the best way to expand European airport capacity and will probe the witnesses on the potential impact of the regulations.
Questions included the impact of the proposals on airlines, and in particular whether they would challenge the dominance of large carriers. Witnesses were also asked to demystify the "grey market" of slot allocations and slot trading, and will be quizzed on the best ways to guard against the misuse of landing slots as part of that process.
Witnesses
The evidence session was held on Monday 19 March in the House Lords.
The Committee heard evidence from:
- Rob Siddall – Policy Director, Airport Operators Association
- Emma Gilthorpe – Economics and Regulation Director, BAA
- Daniel Edwards – Head of Economic Policy and International Aviation, Civil Aviation Authority
- James Cole, Airport Coordination Limited
- Simon McNamara – Deputy Director General, European Regions Airline Association
- David Smith – Schedule Planning Manager, British Airways
- Richard Matthews – Head of Scheduling, easyJet
Corrected transcript of oral evidence: Airport slots - 19 March 2012
Further Information