European carriers are flying thousands of near-empty planes this winter just to keep their airport slots

A plane takes off from Berlin's Airport Tegel.

During a time of lower travel demand, airlines in Europe are flying passenger planes that are almost empty in order to hold onto coveted take-off and landing spots at airports.

The recent publicity around this usage requirement has sparked controversy and anger at a time when the aviation industry is being blamed for creating carbon emissions.

Airport industry representatives argue for the need to maintain commercial viability, as well as the need to be competitive.

The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, suspended slot rules in March 2020 as the industry was floored by the Covid-19 epidemic. It was brought back to require airlines to use 50% of their allocated slots. The figure is expected to increase to 80% this summer.

The omicron variant of demand has led to the reduction of some 33,000 flights by the German carrier. It has to make 18,000 flights in the winter to meet its slot use requirement. By the end of March, it will have to make 3,000 flights.

In late December, the CEO of the group said that they would have reduced flights in January due to the weak demand. In winter, we have to make 18,000 additional flights to get our take-off and landing rights.

The EU does not allow climate-friendly exemptions in the same way as other parts of the world. That harms the climate and is not what the EU Commission wants to achieve with its Fit for 55 program.

The wing of an A320neo aircraft is adorned with a Pratt & Whitney engine during a delivery ceremony outside the factory in Germany.

The EU goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by a minimum of 55% by 2030 was the subject of the "Fit for 55" program adopted by the Commission in July of 2021.

Airport industry representatives are pushing back against airlines and environmentalists, saying there is no reason why the thousands of near-empty flights should be reality.

The European Commission lowered the airport slot use threshold to 50% in order to reflect the uncertainties of a badly hit market and fragile recovery for aviation, according to the ACI.

A few airlines claim they are forced to run high volumes of empty flights in order to retain airport slot usage rights. The Director General of ACI Europe said in a statement that there was no reason why this should be the reality.

He rejected the idea of a flight being completely empty, as have the airlines themselves, who say that the flights often have very few passengers and would be canceled if it weren't for the slot use requirement.

Low load factors have been a reality throughout the Pandemic, but the retention of vital air connection for both economic and societal imperatives is well documented. It is a delicate task to balance commercial viability with the need to protect against anti-competitive consequences.

The Belgian newspaper said thatBrussels Airlines made 3,000 unnecessary flights to maintain airport slots. The EU is in a climate emergency.

According to the commission, the aviation sector is the second biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions after road travel.

The European Commission says on its website that aviation is one of the fastest-growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions and that it is taking action to reduce aviation emissions in Europe.
The institution's flight requirements were described as "environmental, economic and social nonsense" by the Belgian mobility minister. He wrote to the European Commission to demand more flexibility for airlines to keep insufficiently booked planes on the ground.

The Commission spokesman said that the current 50% threshold is a sufficient reduction that reflects consumer demand.

Boris Ogursky told CNBC that he believed the commission's 80% use rule was appropriate. Air traffic is still not normalized. The situation remains volatile due to the development of new virus variants and travel restrictions.

Ogursky said that more flexibility would be needed in a timely manner. Airlines are forced to fly with almost empty planes because of crisis-related flexibilities.

He said that this practice is not practiced outside of Europe. Other regions of the world are taking a more pragmatic approach, for example, suspending slot rules due to the current Pandemic situation. That benefits the environment.

The provision called "Justified Non-Use of Slots" allows airlines to use their allocated airport slots for less than 50% of the time.

This provision only allows airlines to exempt single flight connections, so it is not very helpful for us.

Some of the airline's flights are insufficiently filled to be profitable for the coming winter season, according to the media relations manager.

The flights would normally be canceled by us to make sure we don't operate unnecessary flights from both an ecological and economical point of view. If we canceled all those flights, we would have to pass under the minimum limit to keep our slots. This is a European law and it is valid for all carriers in Europe.

In other parts of the world, there are exceptions to the normal regulations, but in Europe, we still need more flexibility.