The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has invited comments from the aviation industry in India till November 28 over its proposal to amend the Slot Allocation Guidelines – 2013, a notification issued by the ministry stated.
As part of the notification, the ministry is looking to use "previous season" instead of "previous equivalent season" when allocating slots to airlines in India.
What this means is that domestic airlines in India will lose their allocated slots at airports if they are not able to fulfill the 80 percent criteria to operate on those slots.
Airlines can currently claim a right to a slot if they can maintain slot adherence yearly, i.e. they run at least 80 percent of the departures committed to the regulator.
As part of the new proposal, airport slots will be reallocated every 'season' or every six months to airlines, departing from the current practice of reviewing it after a year.
A slot is a permission given by a coordinator for a planned operation to use the full range of airport infrastructure necessary to arrive or depart at an airport on a specific date and time.
The issue of slot allocation is being addressed at a time when major airlines in India are struggling to operate 100 percent of their fleet due to delay in deliveries of engines by Pratt & Whitney.
IndiGo, GoFIRST, and SpiceJet have been forced to ground some of their fleet in India over the last six months.
Aviation consultancy firm Corrective and Preventive Actions (CAPA) on November 1 said that more than 75 planes of the Indian carriers have been grounded due to maintenance and engine-related issues.
These planes account for around 10-12 percent of the Indian fleet. According to a report, the planes are grounded due to maintenance or engine-related issues.
Last year, CAPA said that current slot allocation systems at Indian airports are not aligned with global best practices and there is an urgent need for strong regulation.
In its proposal, CAPA had said that India should allow secondary trading of slots, and airlines would be able to monetise slots to improve liquidity, especially during crises to avert failures.
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