PAL And London Heathrow

New UK Regulation Could Help PAL Keep LHR

16 September 2021

A new UK legislation taking effect on October 30 2021 may give flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) much reprieve to keep its London flight going.

The unexpected help from Europe came after the European Commission agreed to suspend strict requirements since April 2020 regarding airport slots known as the  80:20 rule of “use it or lose it” in the light of the coronavirus outbreak last year.

Until this point, some airlines had been forced to operate nearly empty flights to Heathrow, referred to as “ghost planes” in order to keep it in operation in an effort to not lose the valuable slot.
 

PAL secured six slots and operated 5 slots at its maximum before the unprecedented impact of covid-19 hit airlines around the world in March last year. 

The "Airports Slot Allocation (Alleviation of Usage Requirements) Regulations of 2021", would provide the UK Secretary of State with a power to provide air carriers with an alleviation of the requirement to operate slots allocated to them 80% of the time in order to retain those slots in the next equivalent scheduling period. 

 

This power would be exercisable until 24 August 2024 and for scheduling periods up to and including winter 2024-25. The waiver should not apply to slots of an airline that ceases operations at an airport.

These Regulations make amendments to retained EU law in the field of aviation, relating to the allocation of slots at congested airports. It amends Council Regulation (EEC) No 95/93 of 18 January 1993 on common rules for the allocation of slots at United Kingdom airports, and to make provision about the allocation of airport slots to air carriers in respect of specified periods, as a result of a reduction in the level of air traffic as a result of COVID-19.

Council Regulation (EEC) No. 95/93 requires airlines with allocated slots at level 3 airports to use those slots at least 80% of the time in the preceding scheduling period, in order to retain that slot in the upcoming equivalent period.

Under Article 8(2) and 10(2) of the Regulation, air carriers are generally required to return airport slots to the slot coordinator at the end of the scheduling period for which they were allocated, unless they operated the series of slots for at least 80% of the time or the non-utilisation can be justified on the basis of certain reasons listed in Article 10(4).

These Regulations make three changes in relation to slots allocated for the scheduling period which runs from 31st October 2021 to 26th March 2022, which will affect reallocation of the same slots for the equivalent period from October 2022 to March 2023.

The European Commission stated that it has agreed to suspend temporarily the rule that requires airlines to operate a majority of their scheduled flights in order to avoid forfeiting their landing slots.

Due to government imposed lockdowns in the Philippines, PAL was forced to suspend flights to London and has flown irregular schedule to the British capital.

The Philippine government earlier imposed flight restrictions to London in March 21 and December 24 last year, and another ban from March to August 2021 due to rising UK variant (alpha) strain of the covid19. In the same manner, the UK government also classified the Philippines as a red list country.

The airline has so far flown London Heathrow twice a month, a mere 10% of the 22 slots it had a month at the airport, following the latest EU directive and UK legislation after the Philippine government lifted its flight ban to the UK on the first week of August 2021. Its winter schedule is not posted at this time.

London Heathrow is home to some of the most expensive and sought-after slots in the world. PAL reportedly paid US$45 million from another European operator in 2012 to acquire daily slots at the airport when the airline was under SMC management.

The suspension of EU Council Regulation (EEC) No 95/93 effectively prohibits trading of said slots at this time until after suspension of said directive is lifted.

 

Heathrow is PAL’s first European destination restored in November 2013 since flights to Europe were discontinued in 1998.