The German unions UFO and Vereinigung Cockpit are strongly criticizing the tightening of slot rules planned by the EU Commission. Lufthansa had previously stated that there could possibly be empty flights in winter. The plan currently under discussion stipulates that at least 50 percent of the take-off and landing rights must be used in order to be able to transfer them from the 2021/22 winter flight schedule to summer 2022. If this quota is not met, the slots will go back to the respective regulator for redistribution. Since it is currently not foreseeable how the corona pandemic will develop, new travel restrictions could mean that some airlines have to carry out empty flights in order to secure their take-off and landing rights. "We cannot understand how such decisions can be made in the current situation. European air traffic is still in the early stages of the recovery phase, but is still a long way from pre-crisis levels. The EU Commission's plans would place a massive additional burden on the already hard-hit air traffic," said Daniel Kassa Mbuambi, CEO of UFO. "We must avoid empty flights at all costs," said Stefan Herth, President of the Cockpit Association. "From an environmental point of view, the 50 percent rule decided by the EU is incomprehensible. In addition, the industry and thus the security of hundreds of thousands of jobs in Europe are being put at risk completely unnecessarily. The EU Commission must be realistic at this point. The crisis is far from over and the aviation industry needs political backing." For UFO, the consequences of this move by the EU Commission are worrying and incompatible with the current reality in air traffic: "The dangers have been completely ignored here.