Airport slot hoarding on radar of laws-change probe

Qantas officials will be grilled on allegations the carrier has been misusing slots at Australia's busiest airport, as parliament looks to impose fines on airlines blocking competition.

A Senate inquiry is examining proposed laws on flights at Sydney Airport, which result in penalties for airlines which deliberately cancel services to maintain valuable slots at terminals.

Chief executive of Qantas's domestic operations Markus Svensson will appear before the inquiry on Tuesday, along with officials from regional airline FlyPelican.

Slots at Sydney Airport are limited to 80 take-offs and landings per hour.

But the Australian Airports Association, which is also appearing at the inquiry on Tuesday, said large cancellation numbers represented a concern.

"These higher cancellation rates suggest that slots are being misused, contributing to operational inefficiencies as unnecessary flights are scheduled and cancelled for strategic slot-retention purposes," the association said in its submission to the inquiry.

"The existing slot-allocation system ... has become a barrier to competition, allowing a duopoly that stifles the entry of new carriers and ultimately limits consumer choice."

The association said the lack of competition had led to higher airfares and restricted access for regional airlines.

Under the proposed laws, the federal transport department would have be responsible for the slot-management scheme and would have powers to force airlines to provide information on alleged misuse.

In its submission, Qantas said there was a common interest to ensure capacity at Sydney Airport was used effectively.

"We look forward to working with the government to understand how the bill, regulations, slot management scheme and any associated guidance material will work in practice," the submission said.

The laws will allow for the number of flights per hour at Sydney Airport to be increased if there is bad weather.

If flight landings or take-offs were affected by weather, the cap would be lifted to 85 flights per hour for two hours.

But the number of flights in total would not increase and would still be subject to the airport curfew.

Consumer watchdog Airservices Australia and the federal transport department would also give evidence to the inquiry.