Today the ALDE Group held a public hearing on "Reforming airport slot allocation in Europe" after the European Commission presented a draft regulation - as part of the "Better Airports" package launched in December 2011 - aiming at increasing the capacity and efficiency of European airports through a better allocation of airports slots.

ALDE MEP Giommaria Uggias (Italia dei Valori, Italy), Parliament's rapporteur on this piece of legislation said: "Given that over 70% of flight delays are due to problems in the running times of aircraft in the airports, it is extremely necessary to better regulate the allocation and use of slots by airlines, by making airport slot trading more transparent and fair".

The European Commission, in its proposal, suggests that by 2030 Europe's airports will face a significant capacity crisis, with the consequent increase of about 50% of delays for passengers and cargo airlines. The new measures proposed would, instead, allow the system to handle 24 million more passengers a year by 2025, equal to an extra €5 billion to the European economy and 62,000 new jobs over the period 2012-2025.

"This challenge of airports' capacity must be addressed especially in light of the increased competition in the global air transport market that increasingly moves its centre of gravity to the Far East. It is essential to make better use of the existing capacity in the congested airports while ensuring more efficient and transparent management of the system of allocation of slots, ultimately for the benefit of this vital means of transport to EU economy and of its passengers", Uggias concluded.