Further to the European Commission’s confirmation that it “will put forward targeted legislation to temporarily alleviate airlines from their airport slot usage obligations under EU law”, Virgin Atlantic issued a statement in response.
Shai Weiss, CEO of Virgin Atlantic, said: “As with airlines around the world, the impact of Covid-19 on our bookings has been significant and requires a swift response, which the Transport Secretary has recognised.
“The European Commission today indicated it is in favour of a temporary relaxation of the “use it or lose it” rule for flight slots at regulated airports. This is a positive step, but we urgently expect detail of these measures, and confirmation that alleviation will apply to all markets for the full summer season.
“Prompt publishing of the legislation will allow the UK slot co-ordinator to act, enabling Virgin Atlantic and other airlines to operate schedules more efficiently and avoid flying almost empty planes for the sake of retaining valuable slots, which in turn creates unnecessary carbon emissions.”
