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The federal government has put slot management at Sydney Airport out to tender, a week after Rex went into voluntary administration.
Announced in February as part of a slew of government reforms, the competitive tender process will require prospective slot managers to demonstrate how they would deliver on those reforms, and “manage and mitigate conflicts of interest in a transparent way”.
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The company currently managing the slots, Airport Coordination Australia (ACA), has board representation from Qantas, Virgin, the Regional Aviation Association of Australia, and the airport itself, and was last week criticised by former ACCC chair Rod Sims.
“We are getting on with the job of delivering the reforms that were announced in February,” said Transport Minister Catherine King.
“The recommendations for change were handed to the previous Government in February 2021. On coming to office, it was clear that the previous government had shown little interest in issuing a serious response to the findings.
“In contrast, the Albanese Government started the White Paper process and undertook consultation, including targeted consultation, on responding to the Harris Review. We are serious about making long term reforms to aviation in Australia that are much needed after a decade of neglect.”
Petra Popovac, CEO of ACA, has stood by her company’s reputation.
“We welcome an open tender, this is not the first open tender at Sydney,” she told Australian Aviation.
“We are exceptional at our job and are recognized globally by positions that we hold within industry advisory groups, such as the World Airport Slots Board, where I am Chair.”
The government earlier this year announced a major package of reforms for Sydney Airport, though stopped short of ditching the controversial “80/20 rule”, which allows airlines to keep a take-off slot indefinitely as long as they operate it at least 80 per cent of the time.
“The Government has already implemented a number of these commitments including an independent audit of slot usage, with results to be released once completed; and has re-established the Compliance Committee for Sydney Airport that manages compliance with the slot regime,” the government said in a press release.
“The reforms will be finalised with forthcoming legislation which will include changing the allocation process to free up more slots and changing the definition of ‘new entrant’ to make it easier for new airlines to obtain slots.
“Other reforms include modernising the compliance regime with penalties that address anti‑competitive behaviours, updated and strengthened enforcement tools for the Government to watch airlines more closely and take effective legal action where necessary, and requiring airlines to provide regular information on how they use slots, such as reasons for cancellations or major delays, which will be regularly published.”
