F L I G H T P L A N N I N G
BUSINESS AIRPORT INTERNATIONAL O C TO B E R 2 0 1 9 | 49
“We have to
fit around rules
that are mainly
designed for and by
the airlines”
Jason Hayward, general
manager of Universal
Aviation UK
available for a long time. “My window looks over the airfield
and I could see only one EasyJet tail taxiing two miles away
on the other side of the airfield. There was nothing else
moving there.
“We then have to speak to the Captain and tell him
there’s no slots available. He looks left and right and thinks
I’m an idiot.”
“I don’t know what went wrong in that particular situation.
But it wasn’t the first time the system to just not be working.
The problem is that sometimes we have to fit around rules
that are mainly designed for and by the airlines.”
Common-sense rules
A lot of a business aviation operator’s success is
dependent on their capability to meet their customer’s
travel requirements immediately and with flexibility. Many
in the sector feel that there is room for improvement in the
way slot allocation works for business aviation. However,
Herbane defends the slot-allocation rules, stressing that they
aviation sectors. Unfortunately, many in
business aviation feel that the sector is not
fairly treated by slot allocation processes
around the world. It has become a common
complaint that operators find it difficult to
access large European airports, particularly
during peak times, because all of the slots have
been taken up by commercial airlines. Once local
restrictions on night flights, or rules on the minimum
sizes of aircraft allowed to land are also considered, it
becomes easy to see why people perceive that a bias
against business aviation exists in many airports.
Speaking at the EBACE 2019 conference earlier this
year, Jason Hayward, general manager of Universal Aviation
UK, illustrated the impact slot-allocation bias can have on
business aviation operations, by describing a situation at
Stansted Airport in the UK, when an operator’s passenger
had arrived an hour early for a flight. Hayward checked
the allocation system and discovered there were no slots
Above: Over half of the
slot-coordinated airports in the
world are in Europe
Left: Business aviation
operators require operational
flexibility to meet their
customer’s needs