Season Planning

Below you find some basic information about the sequential proceeding of each season planning step:

Historical Precedence

The core of the slot allocation process is the use of historical precedence ("grandfather rights"). This precedence applies only to equivalent, and not consecutive, schedules seasons (e.g. summer to summer season) and is limited to the equivalent periods and days of operation. This principle entitles an airline to claim a series of slots within the same coordination parameter(s) in the next equivalent schedules season, provided that:

the slots were allocated for regular scheduled and non-scheduled services forming a series of slots
at least 80% of the slots were operated by the airline as cleared by the coordinator
the slots were actually operated as cleared by the coordinator within normal operating tolerance as per defined slot monitoring process

Submission for New Season

About six month before the start of the respective schedules season, airlines provide coordinators with their schedule clearance requests for the arrival and departure times required at the airports concerned. The submission is sent by the airline to the coordinator as a defined standard message format, called SCR (Slot Clearance Request).

Initial Coordination

The coordinator collates this information and identifies periods in which slot requests exceed declared airport capacities. Slots are allocated according to the recommendations of the Worldwide Airport Slot Guidelines (WASG) and in Europe according to the respective Council Regulation (EEC) 95/93 and its amendments. All airlines are informed about their allocated slots latest 12 days prior to the start of the upcoming slot conference.

Post SAL Activity

Post SAL activity can only take place following the distribution of the allocation of slots (SAL) to all airlines and should end three days prior to the start of the slot conference. Airlines may seek schedule improvements, request new slots, and make changes to allocated slots; slots may also be swapped between airlines. In particular, the acceptance of offers and cancellation of unwanted slots is encouraged in order to improve the efficiency of the slot conference.

source: Worldwide Airport Slot Guidelines para 10.11

IATA Slot Conference

Organised by IATA, the Slot Conference is held twice each year (June and November) about five months before the start of the respective schedules seasons. During the three days "working conference", slots are adjusted mainly through bilateral meetings between airlines and coordinators regarding alternatives offered, or between airlines to exchange slots offered or accepted. A slot change at one airport must affect one or more other airports. Because usually all coordinators attend the conference, it provides the best forum in which all such repercussive changes can be quickly and efficiently processed, and airlines can leave the conference with firm schedules which they consider are the best compromise between what is wanted and what is available. The entire process is based on consensus and aims to be flexible, fair and open.

IATA Series Return Deadline

Airlines must return all series of slots that they do not intend to operate no later than the IATA Slot Return Deadline dates of 15 January (summer) and 15 August (winter).

source: Worldwide Airport Slot Guidelines para 10.16

Historics Baseline Date

The series of slots held by an airline on 31 January for the following summer scheduling period, or on 31 August for the following winter scheduling period, is used as the basis for determining eligibility for historic precedence.

All cancellations made after the Historics Baseline Date are considered as non-utilization of the series of slots in the 80% usage calculation, unless the non-utilization is justified for any of the following reasons:

Interruption of the air services of the airline due to unforeseeable and unavoidable causes outside the airline’s control, for example a closure of an airport or airspace or severe weather; or
Action intended to affect these services that prevents the airline from carrying out operations as planned, for example, industrial action or strikes.

source: Worldwide Airport Slot Guidelines para 8.7.3 and 8.8.1

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