Central European ULCC Wizz Air has called for an end to the slot-waiver stance being pursued by many airlines to preserve their positions at airports during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Airlines and their representative body, IATA, have argued they should not have to fulfill the long-standing “use it or lose it” rule for airport slots when they have been forced by the COVID-19 pandemic to slash services.

The slot-waiver procedure is in operation until the end of the northern summer timetable in late October, but there have been calls for it to be continued through the winter timetable period.

However, in a move that pits it against most of its fellow airlines, Budapest, Hungary-based Wizz says the waiver should be scrapped, arguing that to extend it into the winter would be “irrational and anti-competitive.” 

“I call on the European Commission to end the 80-20 slot-waiver regulation for all airlines in Europe as of Oct. 25 and support the recovery of the aviation sector and the associated industries by allowing genuine market conditions to prevail,” Wizz Air Group CEO Jozsef Varadi said July 23. “The current plan to prolong the waiver until March 2021 is against free competition and protects incumbent airlines with weak business models while airlines like Wizz Air are ready to take up new market opportunities.” 

The airline said it was “willing and able to expand” but would be prevented from doing so if the slot-waiver situation remained in force. The ULCC argued the slot waiver extension would assist poorly run airlines.

“Furthermore, this would adversely affect the economies of the cities served by those airports, as the airports would suffer a shortfall in passenger numbers, reducing everything from their own employment requirements to local supply chains,” Wizz Air said. “It would also influence the economic recovery of the EU, by restricting air connectivity and it would come at a high cost to the already hard-hit economies. For example, some of London Gatwick Airport’s existing airlines have publicly stated they believe it could take years until the levels of demand get back to normal. Wizz Air believes allowing such airlines to block slots without operating them is genuinely not in the interest of airlines like Wizz Air, airports, or the economic recovery of the European Union.”