Wizz Air boss blasts slot waiver limiting Gatwick access

Low-cost carrier Wizz Air is seeking a bigger foothold at London Gatwick, but its ambitions may be hampered if regulators extend a freeze on airport slots in response to the coronavirus crisis, CE Jozsef Varadi said. Varadi criticised the suspension of EU rules governing the competitive allocation of airport take-off and landing rights. “It is one of the airports we’re talking to, but I have no idea what’s going to happen to these slots,” Varadi said of Gatwick, the UK’s second aviation hub after Heathrow. “First I would like to see the regulator take position on that.” Well-funded budget carriers are in positioned to dominate an eventual recovery powered by medium-haul leisure travel. Like his Ryanair rival Michael O’Leary, Varadi expects a fare-cutting frenzy. “The market will have to be re-stimulated,” he said. “There’s going to be a lot of competition, there’s going to be price wars.” Under normal slot rules, airlines that fail to use 80% of their take-off and landing rights have to cede some of the slots to competitors. Brussels suspended the “use-it-or-lose-it” principle this year so that grounded airlines could keep slots. The waiver has been prolonged once despite Wizz’s objections, and traditional carriers are pressing for another extension beyond March.<br/>