Near-empty flights crisscross Europe to secure landing slots

By RAF CASERT
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — Europe’s sky is filling up with near-empty flights that even airlines admit serve no purpose except securing valuable time slots at some of the world’s biggest airports. The practice comes as the European Union has committed to being a global leader in combating climate change and flights are known to be major polluters. Environmentalists, major airlines and others are calling for the European Union to tweak the rules on airport slots to cut down on empty or near-empty flights. The rules say airlines must use 50% of their landing and takeoff slots if they want to hold on to them even as the omicron variant of COVID-19 has put many off flying.