Australian Travel Industry Association welcomes reforms to Sydney Airport slot management

The Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA) has welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement on reforms to Sydney Airport slot management as a positive step towards strengthening aviation competition.

Currently, a company that is majority-owned by Qantas and Virgin allocates the slots in and out of Australia’s biggest gateway. This practice has long been criticised for its lack of fairness and transparency, effectively locking up part of the slot pool and making it challenging for new entrants to gain a foothold in the market.

The announced reforms, which will see a competitive tender process opened to appoint a new Sydney Airport Slot Manager, are a significant move towards levelling the playing field between Australia’s domestic airlines. This will increase fairness and transparency in slot management, addressing one of the critical issues that have hampered competition at Australia’s busiest airport.

Effective aviation competition in Australia is a significant issue that ATIA has long been advocating for. It is vitally important that public-policy settings support a level playing field regarding access to infrastructure and route opportunities. The 80-20 rule, which allows airlines to retain slots as long as they don’t cancel more than 20% of flights in a given slot over the year, is outdated and needs to be reformed to further enhance competition.

ATIA commissioned a comprehensive study, conducted by former Qantas economist Tony Webber, which provides a detailed analysis over two decades, demonstrating a trend where airlines often cancel flights for purely commercial reasons, impacting both the travel industry and consumers.

The report is available here