ACI World Calls on Governments to Modernise Slot Rules and Boost Airport Investment at Lima Assembly
Why It MattersReframing slot allocation as a strategic public-interest question rather than a scheduling detail signals that airport capacity decisions will increasingly hinge on national policy and financing frameworks, not just operational coordination.
What happened
Airports Council International (ACI) World called on governments worldwide to integrate airport capacity expansion into long-term national infrastructure and economic planning, urging reform of slot policies and creation of stable regulatory frameworks that attract sustained investment. The call came at the ACI-LAC/World Annual General Assembly, Conference and Exhibition in Lima, running from 25 to 29 September 2026.
ACI World Director General Justin Erbacci warned that the global airport system will require an estimated $6 trillion by 2055 to meet projected demand, stressing that construction alone cannot address the challenge and that maximising existing infrastructure, coordinating with airlines and air navigation service providers, and enabling supportive policy are equally essential. Following a white paper released earlier in September, ACI World is bringing its slot-policy message directly to governments and regulators. "When capacity is scarce, decisions about who can fly, where, and when shape connectivity, competition and passenger choice," Erbacci said, adding that slot policy must now be treated as a matter of strategic public interest rather than a technical scheduling issue. ACI World is also urging finance ministries to look beyond immediate aviation revenue to the broader economic value that connectivity creates, and calling on regulators to provide proportionate frameworks that encourage long-term airport investment.
The Lima event, co-organised with ACI Latin America and Caribbean and hosted by Lima Airport, has drawn more than 600 aviation leaders, government representatives and industry partners from over 60 countries. ACI-LAC Director General Rafael Echevarne and Lima Airport CEO Juan José Salmón, who also serves as President of ACI-LAC, are among the featured speakers. The programme includes approximately 20 executive sessions on infrastructure and capacity, digital transformation, Advanced Air Mobility and sustainability; the launch of a "Women in Airports" inclusivity initiative; a ceremony marking 15 years of ACI's Airport Excellence Programme (APEX), which has completed nearly 250 peer-led airport safety and security reviews worldwide; and an Air Transport Summit focused on the future of aviation in Latin America and the Caribbean, with dedicated workshops on airport charges and slot policies.
Industry impact & what to watch
This appeals to a recurring tension in airport economics: capacity growth is capital-intensive and slow to build, while slot allocation determines who benefits from whatever capacity already exists. Treating slot rules as strategic policy rather than administrative housekeeping reflects how constrained hub airports increasingly compete on access rights as much as on physical expansion.
How governments respond will shape whether airport investment follows predictable regulatory frameworks or continues to be negotiated project by project. Finance ministries weighing aviation revenue against broader connectivity value will determine whether airports attract the long-term capital that a $6 trillion demand estimate implies is needed by 2055.
The next signal will come from how individual regulators respond to ACI's white paper and the workshops on airport charges and slot policies held during the Lima summit, and whether any government moves from discussion toward concrete reform of its slot-allocation rules.
