An aviation deal has been agreed between Singapore and the UK that will provide national carriers’ free access to one another’s markets - more than twenty years after initial talks took place between the two nations.
The landmark Open Skies Agreement will result in the removal of all restrictions on air services operated by carriers of both countries. Singapore Airlines will now be able to collect air passengers from British airports and fly them to third-country destinations, including those in the US, while UK carriers will have similar privileges in Singapore.
Singapore’s Transport Ministry hailed the deal as "more liberal" than other agreements as it allows airlines from both nations to operate like domestic carriers.
The pact will allow Singapore Airlines (SIA) to operate as many services as the Singapore-UK market can support, while UK carriers will be able to operate an unlimited number of services beyond Singapore to any other city it has air links to.
The deal is the first of its kind for Britain, although Singapore is involved in a similar unrestricted aviation agreement with the United Arab Emirates.
The changes will come into force at the end of March next year – nearly two decades after Singapore first made its request to the UK.
Raymond Lim, Singapore's transport minister, said: "This is indeed a trail-blazing agreement concluded between two forward-looking countries that share a common objective of promoting free competition ."
European Union transport ministers, earlier in the year, unanimously backed an open skies aviation deal with the US with the hope of liberalising transatlantic air travel.
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