Peter wrote:
Also they probably still have the staff sitting there, “operating” the system
… and trumpeting about their “system-relevant professions” while they’re at it .
Btw, in Germany these airport slots are managed and allocated by a central state-owned agency not connected to ATC or the airports themselves (FLUKO). According to their website they currently have 14 employees, which actually sounds like a reasonable figure to me, given e.g. that they provide a 24/7-service.
Makes one wonder why they bother, but the most likely reason is that the management will think that if they abandon them they will not be able to bring them back. Also they probably still have the staff sitting there, “operating” the system
All coordinated airports in Germany (Duesseldorf EDDL / Frankfurt EDDF / Hamburg EDDH / Munich EDDM / Hannover EDDV / Stuttgart EDDS / Berlin-SXF EDDB / Berlin-Tegel EDDT) still require slots. That is for IFR only, as usual.
On top of that, additional restrictions for VFR traffic at and around all international airports in Germany (EDD*) have been imposed through a NOTAM.
It would be interesting to divide the airports that normally have slot requirements into 2 categories during the Corona shutdown:
1) Those maintaining slots
2) Those eliminating slots
To start, Zurich LSZH still requires both VFR and IFR slots!