Airports Council International (ACI) World has responded to IATA’s White Paper on slot regulation and airport capacity, highlighting the need for collaboration to support future market demands.
The White Paper, titled ‘Future Airport Slot Policy and the Airline Industry Refocusing on Slots: a global picture of slot policy’, opened with the following statement:
“Unfortunately, airport infrastructure continues to be insufficient to meet customer demand in many locations. While the airlines will continue to call for infrastructure improvements, it is also understood that this is an unwelcome but expected part of the business which will not be remedied in full in the foreseeable future.”
ACI’s statement criticised the White Paper for this, stating that the IATA failed to provide “a complete, accurate, or balanced portrayal of the issue by placing undue blame solely on airports for inefficiencies in the current system,” ignoring the role of airlines within the conversations regarding future improvement.
“Meeting future capacity demands requires collaboration,” said Darryl Dowd, Vice President, Safety, Security and Operations at ACI World. “Airports and airlines must work together to ensure fair and efficient slot allocation and usage, improved operations, and the necessary investments in infrastructure to support growth. ACI remains committed to fostering cooperation among stakeholders to deliver solutions that benefit passengers, economies, and the aviation ecosystem as a whole.”
ACI outlined that it acknowledges the growing challenge of meeting air traffic demand, and that airports are constantly working to increase capacity by improving infrastructure with new facilities and improving operational efficiency. However, it stated that all aviation stakeholders must be held accountable for the work and investments needed to accommodate traffic growth, and that airports alone cannot remedy the current challenges.
“The delivery of airport capacity is dependent on the coordinated actions of multiple stakeholders, including air traffic management, regulators, ground handlers, immigration and security screening services, as well as factors such as weather and regulatory requirements. Airline operations also have a direct impact on airport capacity. These interdependencies must be factored into any discussion about optimising capacity,” the statement read.
Further investment is also needed to achieve more efficient airport slot policy, something that the ACI said airports have long advocated for, but that airlines have opposed. It also addressed that airports have asked for “a more ambitious revision of the slot system to address the inefficient use of slots, including through the Worldwide Airport Slot Board (WASB), the joint airport-airline-coordinator body established in 2020 to oversee the WASG.”
Image: ACI World
