COVID-19: Council agrees its position on helping airlines by suspending slot requirements

The EU is taking urgent measures to suspend temporarily the airport slot requirements which oblige airlines to use at least 80% of their take-off and landing slots in order to keep them the following year. Today, member states' ambassadors in the Council's Permanent Representatives Committee approved a mandate for the presidency to negotiate with the European Parliament a proposal to waive this 'use it or lose it' rule until 24 October 2020 to help air carriers cope with the sharp drop in demand caused by the coronavirus outbreak and the measures to contain it.