(a) Slots do not represent a property right but represent an operating
privilege subject to absolute FAA control. Slots may be withdrawn at any
time to fulfill the Department's operational needs, such as providing
slots for international or essential air service operations or eliminating
slots. Before withdrawing any slots under this section to provide them for
international operations, essential air services or other operational
needs, those slots returned under §93.224 of this part and those recalled
by the agency under §93.227 will be allocated.
(b) Separate slot pools shall be established for air carriers and
commuter operators at each airport. The FAA shall assign, by random
lottery, withdrawal priority numbers for the recall priority of slots at
each airport. Each additional permanent slot, if any, will be assigned the
next higher number for air carrier or commuter slots, as appropriate, at
each airport. Each slot shall be assigned a designation consisting of the
applicable withdrawal priority number; the airport code; a code indicating
whether the slot is an air carrier or commuter operator slot; and the time
period of the slot. The designation shall also indicate, as appropriate,
if the slot is daily or for certain days of the week only; is limited to
arrivals or departures; is allocated for international operations or for
EAS purposes; and, at Kennedy International Airport, is a summer or winter
slot.
(c) Whenever slots must be withdrawn, they will be withdrawn in
accordance with the priority list established under paragraph (b) of this
section, except:
(1) Slots obtained in a lottery held pursuant to §93.225 of this part
shall be subject to withdrawal pursuant to paragraph (i) of that section,
and
(2) Slots necessary for international and essential air service
operations shall be exempt from withdrawal for use for other international
or essential air service operations.
(3) Except as provided in §93.227(a), the FAA shall not withdraw slots
held at an airport by an air carrier or commuter operator holding and
operating 12 or fewer slots at that airport (excluding slots used for
operations described in §93.212(a)(1)), if withdrawal would reduce the
number of slots held below the number of slots operated.
(4) No slot comprising the guaranteed base of slots, as defined in
section 93.318(b), shall be withdrawn for use for international operations
or for new entrants.
(d) The following withdrawal priority rule shall be used to permit
application of the one-for-one trade provisions for international and
essential air service slots and the slot withdrawal provisions where the
slots are needed for other than international or essential air service
operations. If an operator has more than one slot in a specific time
period in which it also has a slot being used for international or
essential air service operations, the international and essential air
service slots will be considered to be those with the lowest withdrawal
priority.
(e) The operator(s) using each slot to be withdrawn shall be notified
by the FAA of the withdrawal and shall cease operations using that slot on
the date indicated in the notice. Generally, the FAA will provide at least
30 days after notification for the operator to cease operations unless
exigencies require a shorter time period.
(f) For 24 months following a lottery held after June 1, 1991, a slot
acquired in that lottery shall be withdrawn by the FAA upon the sale,
merger, or acquisition of more than 50 percent ownership or control of the
carrier using that slot or one acquired by trade of that slot, if the
resulting total of slots held or operated at the airport by the surviving
entity would exceed 12 slots.