PITCHING FOR Global Equity

As Air India and IndiGo struggle to expand globally, New Delhi has taken up the case of slot allocation at major European hubs with ICAO. The outcome could well set the norms, giving developing-nation carriers a level playing field.

- VISHAL DUGGAL reports

India has taken a bold step on the global aviation stage, urging the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to address fairness in airport slot allocation at major European hubs. The demand stems from longstanding grievances of Indian airlines, led by Air India and IndiGo, which cite entrenched slot-allocation practices at airports such as Heathrow, Amsterdam Schiphol, and Paris Charles de Gaulle as unduly favouring European legacy carriers. New Delhi has taken a stand that such practices shut the door on fair competition and severely limit the ability of carriers from developing countries to expand operations, even when bilateral agreements have provisions for additional flying rights.

This has set off a much larger conversation about equity in international aviation. Bilateral air service agreements between countries determine how many flights airlines are entitled to operate, yet the actual availability of slots at crowded international airports often dictates whether those rights can be exercised at all. This way, slot allocation determines which airlines can fly, when and how often, notwithstanding bilateral agreements.

GRANDFATHER RIGHTS AND CURFEWS

European aviation authorities rely heavily on historical precedence and rigid operational rules in their practice of slot allocation. Under the “grandfather rights” system, airlines that have historically held slots are allowed to retain them in perpetuity, provided they meet the requirement of operating at least 80 per cent of the time. It results in large European carriers continuing to dominate prime slots year after year, while new entrants—including Indian carriers—are deprived of desirable flight timings.

India’s Submission at the ICAO Assembly

India has submitted a working paper urging fair and equitable slot allocation at congested European airports.