Maverick Advocaten assists international airline in enforcement proceedings regarding slot regulation at Schiphol Airport

Cyriel Ruers and Bas van Os are representing an international airline in various proceedings following enforcement decisions by the Dutch Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) regarding alleged slot abuse at Schiphol Airport.

The enforcement decisions - fines and a proposed order under penalty payment - relate to slot deviations that, according to the ILT, would qualify as violations of the rules on the use of scarce slots. The ILT has imposed large fines for these behaviours and is threatening to impose an order for incremental penalty payments if slot performance does not improve. Maverick Advocaten's regulatory team is representing the airline together with Croon Aviation Lawyers.

Under the Slot Allocation Decree, airlines are prohibited from abusing slots, for example by deviating from the slot time, flying without a slot or not using an allocated slot. The power for the ILT to enforce the rules against slot abuse is relatively new and in practice leads to much discussion about this regulation, including its relationship to the European Slot Regulation. Cyriel Ruers spoke about this during an earlier conference at Schiphol Airport. In the procedures currently before the court, the slot abuse rules are subject to judicial review for the first time.

Follow Maverick Advocaten on LinkedIn