Brussels (dpa) - The European Union is to waive until October 24 rules requiring airlines to use 80 per cent of their allocated flight slots or lose them the year after. National governments signed off on the measure on Monday.
Airlines and environmentalists alike sounded the alarm over so-called "ghost flights" when the outbreak of the new coronavirus pandemic wiped out global air travel.
Flights which were empty or with just a handful of passengers had to go ahead rather than be cancelled due to the EU's "use it or lose rules."
The waiver extends retroactively to March 1 for all flights, or January 23 for flights to and from China or Hong Kong, the European Commission explained a statement.
The EU's executive branch proposed the move earlier this month, and EU lawmakers voted to approve it last week.
The commission is prepared to extend the waiver if needed, according to the statement.
———
©2020 Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH (Hamburg, Germany)
Visit Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH (Hamburg, Germany) at www.dpa.de/English.82.0.html
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
