More liberalisation is taking hold in South-East Asia, with Brunei, Singapore and Thailand agreeing an "open-skies" air services accord for all-cargo flights.
The Multilateral Agreement on the Full Liberalisation of All-Cargo Air Services was signed in Singapore late in February. The three signatories say they are eager to have other South-East Asian countries join the pact.
Under the terms of the agreement, airlines from the signatory states will have rights to operate unlimited all-cargo services on any route between Brunei, Singapore and Thailand, via or beyond to any third country. The agreement took immediate effect, and its backers hope others will come "on board when they are ready".
There is also a push by some to expand the agreement to cover passenger services, although that is not expected to happen soon. Brunei and Singapore already have an open-skies agreement for both passenger and cargo services, and both are signatories to the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation multilateral open-skies pact.
The skies in South-East Asia have been steadily liberalising in recent years. Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam inked a highly liberal multilateral air services agreement late last year, providing for unlimited capacity rights between the four countries.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong and Malaysia have negotiated an "open-capacity" air services agreement that also gives airlines fifth-freedom rights for passenger and cargo flights. The Hong Kong government says the agreement with Malaysia is its first open-capacity accord with an Asian country, adding that it "marks another major step forward in implementing the government's progressive liberalisation policy in air services".
Elsewhere, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have formally signed an open-skies agreement allowing for unlimited flights between the two countries.
Thailand and the UAE also signed an open-skies accord in March, allowing for unlimited passenger and cargo flights as well as rights to operate beyond the two countries. While the UAE has long been in favour of liberalisation, Thailand has been opening up in recent months, and in January signed an open-capacity agreement with China.
Source: Airline Business
