Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), the world’s busiest cargo airport, is extending its slot-use rule waiver until early next year – extending an earlier announced deadline of resuming the normal slot use rule by October.
The Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department (CAD) said it will continue to allow airlines flying to and from the financial hub to keep their airport slots until March 26, 2022, even if they decide to cut capacity as the industry continues to face a slowdown in demand with extended lockdown measures in place due to new strains of the coronavirus and a slower vaccination rate worldwide.
CAD told Asia Cargo News that it is extending the waiver it earlier implemented governing the use of airport slots through the Winter 2021 season due to the ongoing restrictions related to the pandemic.
The Hong Kong Schedule Coordination Office (HKSCO), under the CAD, performs the schedule coordinator function for the HKIA and the city’s aviation regulator said the HKSCO adopts and maintains a “neutral, transparent and non-discriminatory slot allocation mechanism in accordance with the Worldwide Airport Slot Guidelines (WASG) and applicable local guidelines.”
This is to ensure the efficient utilization of existing airport infrastructure and meeting the demand as far as possible, it added.
Use-it-or-lose-it rule still suspended
“The HKSCO has also been closely monitoring the impact of Covid-19 on slot usage of airline operators at the HKIA,” CAD said in a statement to Asia Cargo News.
“In consideration of the latest Covid-19 situation and to facilitate planning by airline operators, the HKSCO has informed airline operators at HKIA that the current waiver on the “use-it-or-lose-it” slot usage requirement will continue to be applied at HKIA for the Winter 2021 IATA season,” the Hong Kong aviation regulator added.
The IATA Winter season is from October 31, 2021, to March 26, 2022.
The CAD has already earlier extended the suspension of slot-use rules numerous times due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Although airlines have started adding capacity in select routes since late last year with the start of the vaccine rollout, demand continued to be impacted by travel restrictions still in place across many countries and territories around the globe as Covid-19.
Related new strains of the coronavirus also continue to temper demand, further dragged by the slower-than-expected vaccination rate worldwide.
Meanwhile, other major cargo airports in Asia also announced their slot-use rules for the Winter 2021 season, mostly implementing the principle of reciprocity, according to IATA.
For Seoul Incheon, conditional waiver is implemented for Northern Winter on the principle of reciprocity.
“Following the Worldwide Airport Slot Board (WASB) recommendation for Northern Winter 2021 conditionally on the principle of reciprocity: airlines’ appeals on the basis of JNUS will only be considered if evidence related to new/further tightening of restrictions after HBD +7 are provided,” Singapore Changi Airport said.
For Chinese airports — including Beijing and Shanghai — the IATA data showed that the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) is also granting “full waiver for NW21” with some conditions.
In late July, the IATA called out the European Commission decision on slots saying it is “out of touch with reality” after the Commission told airlines that for winter 2021/2022, they will need to use at least 50% of their airport slot allocations or risk losing them.
Charlee C. Delavin
