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The UK and Singapore have signed a landmark aviation agreement on air services which removes all remaining restrictions on air services between the two countries. The agreement, the terms of which were finalised at talks last month, was signed by the UK Secretary of State for Transport, Ruth Kelly, and the Singapore Minister for
Transport, Raymond Lim.
Ms Kelly said: “I am delighted to sign this landmark deal, which will be good for passengers and for the aviation industry, both in the UK and Singapore. 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 each country’s aviation market for the other country’s airlines, 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. It applies state aid rules to ensure fair competition on both sides. It also finalises a new treaty that liberalises arrangements on a wide range of further issues, including codesharing and ground handling.
The UK-Singapore deal will come into effect from 30 March 2008.
