If planes fly empty to maintain their airport slots, does it mean that people massively deciding to fly less wouldn’t change a thing?

Question

Everything is in the question: we’ve all heard, during the pandemic, or at other times, of planes flying without any passenger to keep their slots and bet on future purchases of plane tickets to remain competitive. If many people decided to all of a sudden stop flying, what would it change in terms of the number of planes taking off? Would it be an effective solution to reduce the impact of the travel/flying industry? Thanks in advance!

EDIT: thanks a lot for all your answers and examples, this is very interesting, you’re the best! <3

In: 791

Answer 1

Another reason for flying empty is to preserve pilot qualifications. Pilots are required to fly a certain amount of time each year to maintain their qualifications.