The Australian government has announced reforms to its slot management systems at Sydney Airport. These reforms are intended to force transparency on airlines regarding how they use, or misuse, their slots.
The new regulations aim to combat anti-competitive behaviour by forcing airlines to disclose the reasons for cancellations of flights or major delays, to be regularly published. The government will also undertake independent audits of slot usage, the first of which will take place later this year, according to guardian.com.
These new regulations follow a study by the Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA), which proved that airlines often cancel flights for purely commercial reasons.
Previously, regulations at Sydney Airport allowed airlines to retain their slots, provided they operate 80% of them and do not cancel more than 20% of flights per year. Some say this encouraged anti-competitive behaviour.
Aviation website simpleflying.com says the three major carriers, Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia dominate at the airport, while new entrant Bonza and established airline Rex, have been unable to secure slots at appropriate times. Allegations are that cancellations have spiked over the past 19 months, but have been carefully managed to stay under the 20% mark – this has led to claims of slot hoarding by the big three.
The government is also introducing a “recovery period” at the airport following weather events or major disruptions which will increase the maximum aircraft movements from 80 to 85 movements per hour for 2 hours on the same day as the disruption, to prevent customers being stranded at the airport.
