ACI Reallocates Aeroflot Slots at London Heathrow Airport

DALLAS - London Heathrow Airport (LHR) take-off and landing slots belonging to Aeroflot (SU) have been reallocated for the winter of 2022–2023 (W22), allowing JetBlue (B6) to operate a twice-daily service to New York and WestJet (WS) to provide low-cost services from Canada to the primary hub of the UK.

JetBlue and WS are among six airlines appearing to benefit from the LHR slots taken from SU following the invasion of Ukraine. China Airlines (CI) with 168, Colombia's Avianca (AV) with 168, and India's Vistara Airlines (UK) with 294, among other airlines, received the LHR prized slots worth millions of pounds.

According to Edmond Rose, the former CEO of slot organizer Airport Coordination Limited (ACL), Virgin Atlantic (VS) also acquired a daily pair of slots. Airways has reached out to ACL, and the coordinator has indeed confirmed that out of the total demand of 218,766 slots at LHR for W22, 193,973 were allocated and 171,595 cleared OK, with none to SU, whose unclaimed historic allocations totaled 1,344 slots.

According to TTG Media, Rose claimed that the invasion of Ukraine had given the carriers a fortuitous windfall. “The diversity of destinations they will serve is impressive, touching four continents. JetBlue and Vistara are particularly fortunate to be allocated prized slots for every day of the week. JetBlue’s morning arrivals are especially valuable for transatlantic operations.”

Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, prohibited Russian carriers from using slots worth up to £50m at UK airports in May. Rossiya Airlines (FV), a subsidiary of SU, and Ural Airlines (U6), which both flew to the UK before the invasion, are also impacted by the prohibition.

This is one of SU's A330-300 aircraft. Photo: Davide Calabresi/Airways

Airports Coordination Limited

Airport Coordination Limited is the world’s largest airport slot coordinator, working with 72 airports across the globe, including LHR. Its aim is to "ensure efficient use of capacity and better operational performance for the benefit of airport operators, airlines and passengers."

ACL was established as an independent airport slot coordinator in 1991. Starting with a team of 10 employees, ACI was responsible for coordination at five of Britain's largest airports as well as Bermuda Airport (BDA). ACL was founded as an independent. non-profit.

This is a developing story.

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