(Reuters) – Europe’s slot regulations should not change to preserve legacy airlines, Wizz Air’s head said Thursday. He also stated that if a carrier can’t operate its slots, they should make them available to other carriers.

Leasing the “use it-or-lose” rule allowed legacy carriers to keep airport access during the coronavirus epidemic despite the sharp decline in traffic. Protests were raised by low-cost counterparts who wanted to increase their presence at once congested airports.

Jozsef Valradi, Wizz Air’s CEO and founder said that the slots rules should not be changed since they existed before the pandemic. Reuters interviewed him in Abu Dhabi.

“Why should they be protected in the interest of legacy carriers that are incapable of operating them, because they’re inefficient?” he asked. He also said it was a distortion of the market since other carriers such as Wizz could run the slots.

EU Airport Rules require airlines to use at least 80 percent of their landing and take-off slots in order for them to be kept operating the next year.

These rules were suspended by the EU at the beginning of the COVID-19 crises. However, the EU has begun partially to restore them. This rekindles concerns about empty flights while the pandemic continues.

(Reporting Alexander Cornwell. Editing by Keith Weir.