London Gatwick, Wizz seek return to pre-Covid UK slot rules

London Gatwick airport and discount carrier Wizz Air Holdings Plc joined forces to demand that Britain force airlines to surrender more unused operating slots next summer. The pair have written to UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps urging him to back a return to an 80% use-them-or-lose-them threshold in a consultation document expected in coming days. Regulations for the current winter schedule, introduced to shield airlines whose services have been hit by the coronavirus crisis, allows incumbents to temporarily return any operating slots they don’t need and pick them up the following year, and to use only 50% of those that remain. Gatwick says the rule has left its runway underused, with British Airways mothballing short-haul routes, Virgin Atlantic halting long-haul flights and Norwegian Air Shuttle retaining slots from a defunct North Atlantic arm. Wizz wants to establish a major hub at Gatwick to compete with EasyJet Plc there, but says it won’t do so only to be stripped of slots later. Edinburgh and Belfast International airports also signed the letter, according to a statement Tuesday. “The continued use of the waiver would result in most airlines continuing to under-deliver on capacity, whilst deliberately hoarding slots to protect their market position,” the letter says. “This would significantly harm competition by acting as an intentional barrier preventing other carriers, including new market entrants, from flying these slots instead.”<br/>