New bill aimed at stopping airlines “slot hoarding”

Airlines could face fines if they’re found to be misusing their runway access, in a practice known as “slot hoarding”, at Sydney Airport under the.

Australia’s two biggest airlines, Qantas and Virgin, have faced charges of “slot hoarding” – when airlines book arrival and departure spots at popular airports and then cancel them to maintain priority runway access.

The practice has made it harder for smaller airlines to get access to busy airports.

Here’s what you need to know.

Sydney Airport

Sydney is Australia’s busiest airport, attracting approximately 44 million passengers a year.

The airport doesn’t have any flights departing or arriving between 11p.m. and 6a.m. due to noise concerns from nearby residents. Only 80 departures and arrivals are permitted per hour.

This means the ‘slots’ for planes to enter and leave from are highly competitive.

Virgin and Qantas have been accused of “hoarding” slots they never intend on using in a bid to lock out competitors.

Overhaul

The Federal Governmentof slot usage at Sydney airport earlier this year, which is due to be released next month.

The Government has now announced it will overhaul the slot management system at Sydney Airport.

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It includes giving extra powers to the Government to publish details about slots being misused by airlines.

Under the new bill, fines of up to roughly $20,000 will apply to airlines found to be misusing slots.

Opposition

The Government will need support from either the Coalition, or the Greens and a handful of crossbenchers, to pass the bill.

Shadow Transport Minister, Senator Bridget McKenzie, said the Coalition is considering the legislation.

“The Sydney airport slots problem has been the worst kept secret in the aviation sector,” McKenzie told TDA.

She also said the Coalition remains “sceptical” about whether the legislative punishments would be effective in enforcing compliance with slots.

Airlines

In a statement to TDA, a Virgin Australia spokesperson said the company “has always been committed to fair slot allocation and compliance.”

“We support greater transparency and processes that improve competition across the aviation sector.”

Qantas did not respond to TDA’s detailed questions about the Government’s new legislation.

A spokesperson pointed to the airline’s remarks made earlier this year, where Qantas welcomed reforms to slot managements.