Sydney airport slot reform gets underway with new legislation introduced

The Australian government has introduced legislation for slot reform at Sydney airport, with changes to include civil penalties for airlines found to be hoarding slots. The legislation – introduced in parliament on 9 October – comes about 27 years since slot allocation at the country’s busiest airport were last tweaked. Key changes include new civil penalty provisions for “failing to use a slot, applying for slots with no reasonable prospects of using them, and failing to return or transfer unused slots”. It also calls for the government to “make changes” to allow access for new entrants and regional operators. In a statement following its introduction, transport minister Catherine King says the reforms will result in an “efficient, resilient and competitive” Sydney airport. Other areas of reform will include handling of major disruptions – including during weather events. A so-called “recovery period” will temporarily permit an extra five movements per hour for a maximum of two hours following the disruption. Sydney airport’s movements are capped at 80 per hour, with no additional provisions in case of disruptions. King says the new system will not increase the number of movements across the day, but will ensure disruption recovery can happen faster. <br/>