Washington - The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and its 230 airline members around the world issued a statement on the US government proposed airport slot auctions at Newark Airport.
Giovanni Bisignani, IATA Director General and CEO, had the following comments:
"Rather than addressing capacity issues in a serious manner, DOT is proposing the experimental and unprecedented move of charging the airlines for their own slots. The approach is not only wrong, but it is an illegal and unjustified challenge to 60 years of internationally accepted slot management procedures. And the timing is incredible - in the middle of an enormous financial crisis that is re-shaping the industry. IATA supports all efforts to fight this arbitrary confiscation and sale of airline property."
Bisignani added, "Experience tells us that auctioning will not achieve the desired result of managing congestion. And it potentially breaches international obligations and agreements. But there is no need to reinvent the wheel. International coordination is needed, and the IATA Worldwide Scheduling Guidelines are a ready-made solution to bring order to New York’s airports. They are already used in over 140 of the world’s busiest airports."