UK and Singapore sign ‘Open Skies’ agreement
The UK and Singapore have signed a landmark aviation agreement on air services between the two countries.
The deal, which comes into force from March 30, removes all remaining restrictions on air services.
Transport secretary Ruth Kelly said: “As the most liberal agreement of its kind to date, I hope it will set the standard for other comparable agreements in the future.
“This is a major step forward in extending the benefits of open aviation agreements such as travellers already enjoy within Europe.”
The new agreement opens access to airlines in each country, including flights to any onward destination in other countries.
It is the first agreement that gives unfettered access to the London-US market to a non-EU or US airline.
The first phase of the UK-US Open Skies agreement will come into effect on the same date.
Singapore Airlines “enthusiastically” welcomed the agreement, saying: “This is a real step forward for the airline industry; the UK – previously one of the more restrictive regulators of air services – has seen the very real benefits of opening markets to full competition.
“This is one of the most progressive air services agreements struck across the world in years. It will be closely watched by many other countries, and should serve as a template for badly-needed structural reform of the archaic air services agreement system.
“Going forward, the agreement provides the mechanism to allow Singapore Airlines to grow its operations to, through and beyond the UK.
“There are still some barriers to doing so, namely that slots at London’s Heathrow Airport are not available, but in future years, as capacity at the airport grows, this will change.
“We plan our capacity carefully. Going forward, we inject where the market can support it.
“But the reason this agreement is so beneficial is that it sets the framework under which we can plan capacity in the future.”
by Bev Fearis and Phil Davies
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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