Wizz Air accuses rivals of hoarding slots they ‘have no intention of operating’

Wizz Air has stepped up its crusade to unlock airport slots, branding the current waiver as a "fraud against the taxpayer and the travelling public".

The airline accused competitors of holding onto slots they "have no intention of operating in the near future" and of being guilty of "anti-competitive slot-blocking".

The European Commission is facing calls from some airlines to extend the current waiver to the usual 80-20 use-it-or-lose-it rule for airport slots until March 2021. 

But Wizz Air said any extension would hinder rather than help the recovery of the EU aviation industry.

In a withering attack, Chief Executive József Vradi said those calling for an extended waiver are airlines with weak business models, who have already benefitted from "disproportionately huge injections of public money".

"I call on the European Commission to end the 80-20 slot waiver regulation for all airlines in Europe as of 25 October 2020 and support the recovery of the aviation sector, associated industries and national economies by allowing genuine market conditions to prevail," he said.

"The calls to prolong the slot waiver until March 2021 are against free competition and protect incumbent airlines with weak business models while airlines like Wizz Air are ready to take up new market opportunities and provide even more low fare opportunities for their passengers and essential connectivity for countries.

"Even more so than the irrational amounts of state aid given to airlines who have managed themselves into a financial position with no resilience, slot blocking is a fraud against the taxpayer as well as the travelling public."

Wizz Air said it is "willing and able to expand" and return "international connectivity and jobs to the aviation industry".

Yet with the help of slot co-ordinators, it said it is being blocked by airlines who "complain they are unable to operate and yet object to the creation of new capacity".

Wizz Air said it has already recovered 77% of its capacity year on year across its network and almost 100% of its UK-based operation.

"At Gatwick Airport, incumbent airlines have publicly stated that they believe that it could take years until their levels of demand return to normal and that they will scale back their operations at, or withdraw from, the airport entirely," the carrier said.

"Yet they seek to retain slots that they have no intention of operating in the near future but object to the entry of new airlines – this is nothing more than anti-competitive slot-blocking."