Landing slot


A landing slot, takeoff slot, or airport slot is a permission granted by the owner of an airport designated as Level 3, which allows the grantee to schedule a landing or departure at that airport during a specific time period. Slots may be administered by the operator of the airport or by a government aviation regulator such as the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.
Landing slots are allocated in accordance with guidelines set down by the IATA's Worldwide Airport Slots Group. All airports worldwide are categorized as either Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3. At Level 2 airports, the principles governing slot allocation are less stringent; airlines periodically submit proposed schedules to the administrating authority, rather than historic performance. Participation is not mandatory, but reduces congestion and non-participants are penalized if the airport must later be designated level 3.
As of summer 2017, a total of 123 airports in the world are Level 2 airports, and 177 are Level 3 airports.
Allocated landing slots may have a commercial value and can be traded between airlines. Continental Airlines paid $209 million for four pairs of landing slots from GB Airways at London Heathrow Airport, $m each. The highest price paid for a pair of take-off and landing slots at Heathrow Airport was $75m, paid by Oman Air to Air France–KLM for a prized early morning arrival, reported in February 2016. A year before, American Airlines paid $60m to Scandinavian Airlines.
YearBuyerSellerdaily slot pairstransaction slot value
1998BAAir UK415.63.9
2002BABA Connect5132.6
2002BASN Brussels727.53.9
2003BASWISS822.52.8
2003BAUnited2126
2004VirginFlybe4205
2004QantasFlybe22010
2006BABWIA155
2007BAMalev273.5
2007BABA7.3304.1
2007VirginAir Jamaica15.15.1
2007BMI77.77709.9
2007unknownAlitalia36722.3
2008ContinentalGB Airways/Alitalia/Air France4104.526.1
2013Deltaunknown230.815.4
2013EtihadJet346.215.4

As supply is limited, slot trading became the main solution to enter Heathrow and transfers grew from 42 in 2000 to 526 in 2012 and over 10 years the average priced slot was equivalent to £4 per passenger.
If an airline does not use an allocation of slots, it can lose the rights. Airlines may operate ghost or empty flights to preserve slot allocations. To avoid pollution and financial losses caused by an excessive number of empty flights, these rules have occasionally been waived during periods of temporary but widespread travel disruption, including after the September 11, 2001 attacks, and during the SARS epidemic, the Great Recession, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Level 3 coordinated airports

[Australia]