EU preparing new rules for air carriers to cope with air traffic decline

BRUSSELS, Jan 27 (KUNA) -- The European Union Wednesday announced that it is preparing new temporary rules to help air carriers cope with the drastic decline in air traffic caused by the Coronavirus crisis and avoid operating empty flights.
EU ambassadors today agreed on a negotiating mandate for granting airlines relief from airport slot use requirements for summer 2021.
The new rules will also give flexibility to adapt to different scenarios and allow for measures to be taken up to the summer 2022 scheduling period, said an EU statement.
Under the general EU airport slot requirements, airlines must use at least 80% of their take-off and landing slots in order to keep them the following year. The new temporary rules grants airlines the possibility to return 50% of their slot series but expects them to use at least 50% of the remaining slots. (end) nk.rk