Airport coordination rules and slot allocation are modernized

The National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) approved, through Resolution No. 682, of June 7, 2022, the new regulation for airport coordination and defined the rules for allocating and monitoring the use of airport infrastructure through the use of slots (arrival and departure times at coordinated airports), which will be in effect as of the 2023 summer season (S23). It also updated the parameters applicable to the airports of Congonhas, Guarulhos, Santos Dumont, Recife and Pampulha.

The new rules will be used for the definitive distribution of the 41 slots used by Avianca Brasil at Congonhas airport, which were allocated provisionally in 2019, as well as the slots that may arise from increased airport capacity.

Secondary Market   

An important regulatory innovation was the creation of the secondary slot market, through the possibility of slot assignments between airlines from different economic groups, which reduces access and exit barriers for airlines at airports with infrastructure shortages, allows for dynamic market solutions among the players themselves, and may promote more efficient use of slots. In order to avoid speculation and market concentration effects, the regulation has provided for bypass rules.         

It is important to emphasize that the secondary market respects the concept that the slot is not part of the airline’s or air operator’s assets and represents the temporary use of the airport infrastructure, whose maintenance of slot histories depends on compliance with the criteria established in the regulations. Slot exchanges and assignments must always comply with the current regulatory rules and parameters.

Sustainability and consultation

The regulation also introduced aspects that encourage environmental sustainability and constructive engagement between airport operators and airlines. In addition to the regularity and competition promotion criteria, environmental performance and operational efficiency will also be considered, with incentives for the use of aircraft with lower aircraft noise and CO2 emissions.

International harmonization with WASG    

ANAC considered, when updating the norm, the international practices disseminated under the Worldwide Airport Slot Guidelines (WASG), which brings together a set of international guidelines for coordinated airports, adopting to the airports of Guarulhos, Santos Dumont, Recife and Pampulha the same parameters of the manual.

For Congonhas, the most saturated and concentrated airport infrastructure in the country, the Agency established local rules adjusted to the airport’s characteristics. Among the specific rules established for Congonhas are:   

- a limit of slot participation by airlines from the same economic group at up to 45%, minimizing the possibility of increased concentration; 

- qualifying criteria for new entrants so that only airlines with minimal operating capacity can operate at the airport;     

- Prioritize slot allocation for companies that are already established in the Brazilian domestic market but still have little participation at the airport.