Brussels, 06/02/2001 (Agence Europe) - A study drawn up by the Technical University of Berlin pleads in favour of a fee system for the use of airport slots and the auction of unused slots, a solution that the European Commission has for now rejected faced with dissent by European airline companies (see EUROPE of 27 January, p.10).
According to a study on "Possibilities for the better use of airport slots in Germany and the European Union", drawn up by the Technical University of Berlin at the request of the airport engineering company Hochtief AirPort, the reform of the slot allocation system should include: 1) a slot reservation fee, the amount of which would be calculated depending on scarcity; 2) a limited duration for slot rights, upon expiry of which slots should be placed in a pool from which they would be auctioned off; 3) introduction of a "secondary market" for slot leasing.
According to Hochtief AirPort, "in 1999, demand exceeded existing capacities at about seventy European airports", whereas passenger travel should increase 5% a year over the next two decades. "The solutions proposed by the Technical University of Berlin constitute first steps that can be implemented within the existing EU legal framework", says Hochtief AirPort in a press release. The study of the University of Berlin "confirms that the introduction of market mechanisms for slot allocation would enable a less resource-intensive and more efficient use of airport infrastructure", the German company states.