MoCA issues clarification on Sale of Slots by Jet to Ethihad at Heathrow Airport

The entitlements/allotments of traffic rights to Indian carriers and availability of slots at foreign airports (Heathrow) are two different matters says Aviation Ministry

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The ministry of Civil Aviation has issued the following clarification about Sale of Slots by Jet to Ethihad at Heathrow Airport as per a PIB release.

Recently the issue of slot trading at Heathrow Airport by Jet Airways to Ethihad Airways is being raised by various fora including Members of Parliament, Media and Parliament Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture during the Demand for Grants 2013-14 of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

The main allegation is that the slots at Heathrow Airport are owned by the Government of India and not Jet Airways and that they have  been sold by Jet Airways for consideration to foreign carrier (Ethihad) without permission of the Government of India and without reimbursement of this consideration to Government of India, which amounts to cheating.  

It is also alleged that Air India has been consistently trying to operate more flights to London’s Heathrow Airport but is unable to do so due to unavailability of the slots.  Therefore, these slots should have been transferred to the national carrier. There is a confusion that trading of slots at  Heathrow and allotment of international traffic rights to the Indian carriers by the Ministry of Civil Aviation are the same thing. 

These allegations are absolutely baseless and false. The entitlements/allotments of traffic rights to Indian carriers and availability of slots at foreign airports (Heathrow) are two different matters.  The rights to fly on international routes under Bilateral Air Service Agreement are given by the Government of India to the designated Indian carriers as per their demand and availability of traffic rights for which detailed guidelines have been issued by the Government of India. 

The slots are permissions to use a runway or airport infrastructure that means a right of the airline to land and depart from a particular airport which is given by the airport to the airlines as per the procedure. After slot allocation, the system of slot trading is not available at various airports in India. However, in case of Heathrow Airport, once the slot has been allocated to the airline, the airline after 2 years gets the grandfather rights and the airline is entitled to trade the slot to another airline by way of sale/lease/baby sitting etc. 

In case of London’s Heathrow Airport, when an airline (Indian carriers) for the first time applies for a slot, the Airport Coordination Limited of Heathrow allocates the slot (called Pair or Slot i.e. Departure and Arrival) as per the availability of the time gap. 

The slot time may or may not be suitable to an airline which, in turn, is free to swap/trade the slot with any other airline through lease or buy it from other airline.  This operates on the principle of willing buyers and willing sellers.  The trade of slot must be confirmed by the Airport Coordination Limited, Heathrow.  As demand exceeds supply at Heathrow, slot trading is now the principal means of entry.  In the case of slot allocation at Heathrow Airport, Government of India or any other Civil Aviation Institution in India has no role to play. This is purely a function of Airport Coordination Limited of Heathrow Airport and the concerned airlines. 

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