The Airports Slot Allocation (Alleviation of Usage Requirements) Regulations 2026

Explanatory note

Reproduced verbatim from the instrument as published on legislation.gov.uk (Crown Copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0). The note is prepared by the responsible government department and is not part of the instrument itself.

These Regulations are made in exercise of the power in section 14(3) of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (c. 28) (“ the 2023 Act ”). These Regulations amend Council Regulation (EEC) No 95/93 of 18 January 1993 on common rules for the allocation of slots at United Kingdom airports (“ the Slot Regulation ”) to make provision about the calculation of airport slot usage for the 2026 summer and winter scheduling periods.

The Slot Regulation is secondary assimilated EU law within the meaning of section 12(2) of the 2023 Act. Article 10 of the Slot Regulation makes provision for how the utilisation of slots by air carriers is calculated for the purpose of determining entitlement to slots in subsequent scheduling periods. Under Articles 8(1) and 8(2) and 10(2), air carriers are generally required to operate a series of slots for a minimum percentage of the relevant scheduling period in order to retain entitlement to those slots, subject to certain exceptions.

Regulation 2 revokes paragraph 3 of Article 10 of the Slot Regulation and inserts new paragraphs 3 to 3C.

Paragraph 3A provides that slots allocated to an air carrier before 31 January for the following summer season, or before 31 August for the following winter season are not to be taken into account for the purposes of the usage calculation.

Paragraph 3B makes provision for the purposes of the usage calculation for the summer season beginning in 2026 (29 March 2026 and ending on 24 October 2026). Where specified conditions are met, the coordinator is required not to take into account up to 10% of slots allocated to an air carrier at an airport for that season which are returned to the coordinator. This consists of up to 5% of slots returned before 10 July 2026, and a further 5% returned before 11 October 2026. The conditions relate to historic entitlement to the slots (or entitlement following a transfer or exchange under Article 8a), advance notification to passengers of flight cancellations, and confirmation that the air carrier has not permanently ceased, and does not intend permanently to cease, operations at the airport.

Paragraph 3C makes corresponding provision for the purposes of the usage calculation for the winter season beginning in 2026 (25 October 2026 and ending on 27 March 2027). Where the same conditions are met, the coordinator is required not to take into account up to 10% of slots allocated to an air carrier at an airport for that season which are returned to the coordinator. This consists of up to 5% of slots returned before 15 November 2026, and a further 5% returned before 14 March 2027.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen. An Explanatory Memorandum has been published alongside the instrument on www.legislation.gov.uk .