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5 August, 2024

Sydney Airport slot manager tender process opens today with transparency a priority

Sydney, Australia - December 16, 2017: Aerial Sydney airport car park view.

By Grant Jones

The competitive tender process for a new Sydney Airport Slot Manager opens today and will require prospective tenderers to demonstrate how they manage and mitigate conflicts of interest in a transparent way, as part of overarching reforms to the system.

The competitive tender to be released today (Monday) will require prospective slot managers to demonstrate how they will deliver on the Albanese Government reforms that were announced earlier this year, following recommendations from the Harris Review and the ACCC.

Once appointed, they will need to comply with a statement of expectations including governance and transparency requirements. Sydney Airport’s timeslots are currently managed by a company majority owned by Qantas and Virgin Australia.

“Our reforms to the slot system at Sydney Airport are an important part of improving competition and significantly increase transparency,” the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Catherine King, said.

“We are getting on with the job of delivering the reforms that were announced in February. The recommendations for change were handed to the previous Government in February 2021.”

This is part of a suite of reforms to the Sydney Airport slot system which were announced in February, prior to the collapse of Bonza and Rex.

A Rex Airlines Boeing landing at Sydney Kingsford-Smith Airport in June.

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 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.

“On coming to office, it was clear that the previous government had shown little interest in issuing a serious response to the findings,” the Minister said.

“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.”

Bonza entered voluntary administration on April 29 after its planes were repossessed.

The move follows soon the collapse of Bonza which entered voluntary administration on April 29 after its planes were repossessed by lessor AIP Capital, and demise of Rex Airlines which entered administration on July 30.

“It’s extraordinary that it’s taken the failure of an airline as important as Rex for Catherine King to move on something so important as competition in the airline industry,” opposition finance spokeswoman Jane Hume said on Sky News Australia.

“Let’s not forget that it was only 12 months ago that we discovered that Qatar Airways had been blocked from additional slots … that would’ve provide an additional 28 flights to Australia … which would have brought the prices of airlines down.”

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Sydney Airport Slot Manager