A landing slot, takeoff slot, or airport slot is a permission granted by the owner of an airport designated as Level 3 (Coordinated Airport), which allows the grantee to schedule a landing or departure at that airport during a specific time period.^[1] Slots may be administered by the operator of the airport or by a government aviation regulator such as the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.^[2]

Landing slots are allocated in accordance with guidelines set down by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Worldwide Airport Slots Group. All airports worldwide are categorized as either Level 1 (Non-Coordinated Airport), Level 2 (Schedules Facilitated Airport), or Level 3 (Coordinated Airport). At Level 2 airports, the principles governing slot allocation are less stringent; airlines periodically submit proposed schedules to the administrating authority, rather than historic performance. Participation is not mandatory, but reduces congestion and non-participants are penalized if the airport must later be designated level 3.^[2]

As of summer 2017, a total of 123 airports in the world are Level 2 airports, and 177 are Level 3 airports.^[3]

Allocated landing slots may have a commercial value and can be traded between airlines. Continental Airlines paid US$209 million for four pairs of landing slots from GB Airways at London Heathrow Airport, $52.3m each.^[4] The highest price paid for a pair of take-off and landing slots at Heathrow Airport was $75m, paid by Oman Air to Air France–KLM for a prized early morning arrival, reported in February 2016. A year before, American Airlines paid $60m to Scandinavian Airlines.^[5]

1. A landing slot, takeoff slot, or airport slot is a permission granted by the owner of an airport designated as Level 3 (Coordinated Airport), which allows the grantee to schedule a landing or departure at that airport during a specific time period.
2. Definition and synonyms of slot from the online English dictionary from Macmillan Education. This is the British English definition of slot.View American English definition of slot. Change your default dictionary to American English. View the pronunciation for slot.

Slot Name Meaning Historically, surnames evolved as a way to sort people into groups - by occupation, place of origin, clan affiliation, patronage, parentage, adoption, and even physical characteristics (like red hair).

As supply is limited, slot trading became the main solution to enter Heathrow and transfers grew from 42 in 2000 to 526 in 2012 and over 10 years the average priced slot was equivalent to £4 per passenger.^[7]

If an airline does not use an allocation of slots (typically 80% usage over six months), it can lose the rights. Airlines may operate ghost or empty flights to preserve slot allocations.^[8] To avoid pollution and financial losses caused by an excessive number of empty flights, these rules have occasionally been waived during periods of temporary but widespread travel disruption, including after the September 11, 2001 attacks, and during the SARS epidemic, the Great Recession, and the COVID-19 pandemic.^[9]

Level 3 coordinated airports^[3][edit]

Australia[edit]

Austria[edit]

• Innsbruck Airport (winter season only)

Belgium[edit]

Brazil[edit]

Cambodia[edit]

Canada[edit]

Cape Verde[edit]

Gut Slot Meaning Definition

Colombia[edit]

Cuba[edit]

China[edit]

Czech Republic[edit]

Denmark[edit]

Finland[edit]

France[edit]

Germany[edit]

Ghana[edit]

• Kotoka International Airport - Accra

Greece[edit]

• Chania Airport (summer season only)
• Chios Airport (summer season only)
• Corfu Airport (summer season only)
• Heraklion Airport (summer season only)
• Kalamata Airport (summer season only)
• Karpathos Island National Airport (summer season only)
• Kavala Airport (summer season only)
• Kephalonia International Airport (summer season only)
• Kithira Airport (summer season only)
• Kos Airport (summer season only)
• Mykonos Airport (summer season only)
• Mytilene Airport (summer season only)
• Patras Airport (summer season only)
• Preveza Airport (summer season only)
• Rhodes Airport (summer season only)
• Samos Airport (summer season only)
• Sitia Public Airport (summer season only)
• Skiathos Airport (summer season only)
• Thira Airport (summer season only)
• Volos Airport (summer season only)
• Zakynthos International Airport (summer season only)

Greenland[edit]

Hong Kong[edit]

Iceland[edit]

India[edit]

• Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport - Mumbai
• Indira Gandhi International Airport - Delhi
• Chennai International Airport - Chennai
• Rajiv Gandhi International Airport - Hyderabad
• Kempegowda International Airport - Bangalore

Indonesia[edit]

• Ngurah Rai International Airport - Denpasar
• Soekarno-Hatta International Airport - Jakarta

Ireland[edit]

Gut Slot Meaning Urban Dictionary

Israel[edit]

Italy[edit]

• Lampedusa Airport (summer season only)
• Linate Airport - Milan
• Malpensa Airport - Milan
• Orio al Serio Airport - Milan
• Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport (summer season only)
• Pantelleria Airport (summer season only)
• Ciampino Airport - Rome
• Fiumicino Airport - Rome

Japan[edit]

Malaysia[edit]

Mauritius[edit]

• Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport - Mauritius

Mexico[edit]

Morocco[edit]

Netherlands[edit]

New Zealand[edit]

Gut Slot Meaning Dictionary

Norway[edit]

Pakistan[edit]

Philippines[edit]

Poland[edit]

Portugal[edit]

• Faro Airport (summer season only)

Russia[edit]

• Sheremetyevo Airport - Moscow
• Vnukovo International Airport - Moscow

Saudi Arabia[edit]

Singapore[edit]

South Africa[edit]

• King Shaka International Airport - Durban
• OR Tambo International Airport - Johannesburg

South Korea[edit]

Spain[edit]

• Ibiza Airport (summer season only)
• Menorca Airport (summer season only)

Sri Lanka[edit]

Sweden[edit]

Switzerland[edit]

Taiwan[edit]

Thailand[edit]

• Suvarnabhumi Airport - Bangkok
• Don Mueang International Airport - Bangkok

Tunisia[edit]

Turkey[edit]

• Antalya Airport - Antalya (summer season only)

Ukraine[edit]

Gut Slot Meaning Synonyms

• Boryspil International Airport - Kiev

United Arab Emirates[edit]

United Kingdom[edit]

United States[edit]

• John F. Kennedy International Airport - New York City
• LaGuardia Airport (not on IATA list, but slot controlled)^[10]
• Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport - Washington, D.C. (not on IATA list, but slot controlled)^[10]

Vietnam[edit]

• Noi Bai International Airport - Hanoi
• Tan Son Nhat International Airport - Ho Chi Minh City

References[edit]

1. ^'Worldwide Slot Guidelines, 9th Edition English Version'(PDF). IATA. 1 January 2019. p. 14.
2. ^ ^abSlot Administration - U.S. Level 2 Airports
3. ^ ^ab'List of all Level 2 and Level 3 airports'. iata.org. 29 May 2018.
4. ^'Continental pays Heathrow record'. Financial Times. March 3, 2008.
5. ^'Oman breaks Heathrow record with deal for slots'. The Sunday Times. 14 February 2016.
6. ^'Heathrow Airport's slot machine: hitting the jackpot again?'. CAPA centre for aviation. 8 May 2013.
7. ^'Heathrow Airport: An introduction to Secondary Slot Trading'(PDF). Airport Coordination Limited. 30 September 2012. Archived from the original(PDF) on 4 March 2016.
8. ^Green anger at 'ghost flights'
9. ^Paul Sillers (12 March 2020). 'Ghost flights: Why our skies are full of empty planes'.
10. ^ ^ab'Airport Reservation Office'. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).