Aviation sector faces ‘significant’ slots challenge
The resurgence of congestion at airports worldwide is presenting significant challenges when it comes to “slot management”, according to Neil Garwood, CEO of UK-based Airport Coordination Limited (ACL).
“Coordinating flight flows and the services and infrastructure supporting them has always been a delicate balancing act at the most in-demand airports,” said Garwood, CEO of the world’s largest independent slot management company.
“However, with global demand for air travel rebounding more quickly and unevenly than expected, significant new logistical puzzles are emerging for airports and airlines, threatening critical connectivity between destinations.”
A mix of local growth drivers in specific markets is expected to significantly reshape airlines’ air traffic flows in the short to medium term, ACL said, requiring new, data-driven coordination measures to help maximise airport efficiency and fair access.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) categorises airports according to their ease of access, with Level 1 airports unconstrained; Level 2 facing potential congestion at peak times and Level 3 already experiencing demand which significantly exceeds capacity, requiring independent coordinators to allocate arrival and departure slots.
For the current global schedule period, Northern Summer 2024, IATA has designated 386 airports as either Level 2 or 3, of which 219, or 57%, are in the higher category. This trend will continue at least until the end of next year, the current horizon for slot allocation.
“Many airlines have restored or bettered their pre-pandemic operating levels,” said Garwood, whose company coordinates slot access at 75 airports (in 11 countries), including the UK’s nine biggest gateways, key Middle East destinations, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and 26 Saudi Arabian locations – from Jeddah to Neom Bay and across the world in the five main airports of New Zealand.
“But growth doesn’t necessarily reflect business as usual,” he added. “While global air travel has surged back, there are new patterns or prospects of growth in many locations which create fresh operational challenges for key airports.
“Airlines are operating more flights on some routes, fewer on others, adding some new destinations, or exiting others altogether. They are also changing the sizes of aircraft deployed to align capacity more closely with demand.
“The uneven and different scales of recovery have duly placed significant pressure on many airports and service providers such as ground handling and fuel companies to accommodate not just schedules requested by airlines, but also changing volumes of travellers and freight.”
New congestion challenges are emerging in specific markets too, as some airports refresh or even replace infrastructure, progressing projects deferred during the pandemic or preparing for entirely new opportunities with potential to significantly impact slot management.
