Gatwick boss demands return of 80/20 landing rights rules

London's Gatwick airport is pushing UK and European regulators to reinstate rules that force airlines to use or lose their lucrative take-off and landing rights ahead of next year’s critical summer season. Stewart Wingate, CE of the UK’s second-busiest airport, said in an interview that it is “vital” airlines hand back slots they do not plan to use so that competition returns to the industry. European regulations dictating that carriers lose a slot if it is not used 80 per cent of the time were suspended for six months in March. The move was designed to stop airlines running empty flights to hold on to their landing rights as global air travel all but ground to a halt amid the coronavirus pandemic. The so-called “80/20” rules were then waived for another six months in September and the industry is now debating whether the waiver should be extended for a third time to run across all of next summer. Take-off and landing rights are among airlines' most valuable assets and can be traded for tens of millions of pounds. “It is vital that the industry reverts back to using the 80/20 slot rule for the start of the summer season,” said Mr Wingate. This would “ensure that the aviation market is competitive and airlines are incentivised to trade or hand back unused slots so that other airlines can fly them instead, including new market entrants”. <br/>