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Sydney Airport will have a new slot manager from April, with London-based Airport Coordination Limited (ACL) APAC to take over for the next three years.
ACL manages slots at 75 airports worldwide, such as London Heathrow and Dubai, and is owned by a consortium including British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and easyJet. It will replace Airport Coordination Australia (ACA), which has handled Sydney’s slots for the past quarter century.
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“This competitive process formed part of a suite of reforms to Sydney Airport’s slot system undertaken by the Albanese Labor Government,” Transport Minister Catherine King said.
“We have already implemented a number of other slot reform commitments at Sydney Airport, including publishing an independent audit of slot usage and new legislation that modernises and strengthens the compliance regime.
“My department is continuing to work on slot reforms for Sydney Airport, including developing supporting legislation for a recovery period, transparency around slot use and an independent compliance committee.”
ACA, which lost the contract to ACL APAC last year, has board representation from Qantas, Virgin, the Regional Aviation Association of Australia, and Sydney Airport itself. Speaking to Australian Aviation in December, its chief executive Petra Popovac said the government had made its decision based on poor information.
“Our company was formed specifically to allocate the slots at Sydney. I am incredibly disappointed that the Government would choose a foreign company to allocate slots at our biggest airport in Australia,” Popovac said.
“We have been a victim of scapegoating on a number of issues and it’s a shame that the Government listened to those incorrect narratives, and in my opinion, made the wrong decision for the stakeholders of the airport and the Australian public.
“The Government has sent Australian jobs offshore, jobs that are highly technical and are currently performed by Australian experts in their field.”
ACA was last year criticised by former ACCC chair Rod Sims in the wake of Rex and Bonza’s collapses, accusing Qantas and Virgin of using it to box out competitors, a charge which Popovac vehemently denied.
“Bonza has never requested a slot in Sydney. Rex received many slots in the peak periods and handed some peak slots back as they had too many to use,” she told Australian Aviation at the time.
“Slots are not the issue at Sydney. Rod Sims has never communicated with ACA or asked any questions of us regarding the allocation of slots at Sydney, or anything else. In its 26-year history, ACA has never had any complaints against it.
“ACA allocates slots in an independent, neutral, and non-discriminatory manner. The shareholders have no say in the allocation of slots. The board is there to ensure that the company is financially stable.”
