Airlines may soon stop flying near-empty 'ghost flights' thanks to a potential European Commission rule change
Even before the COVID-19 crisis hit Europe, so-called ghost flights have been used by airlines as placeholders in valuable slots.
Slots at London's primary international gateway can sell for as high as $75 million as seen with KLM Royal Dutch Airline's sale of a single slot to Oman Air in 2016.
A recent sale by Air New Zealand of its slot at Heathrow yielded the flag carrier $27 million, though the purchaser has remained anonymous.
If slot restrictions are alleviated, airlines would save the unnecessary expenses incurred by operating a flight with no passengers, allowing them to focus on building reserves to ride out the industry downturn.
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