Singapore, Australia to resume 'open skies' talks this month: Yeo
Singapore, Australia to resume 'open skies' talks this month: Yeo
Agence France-Presse, Singapore
Australian aviation officials will visit Singapore this month for further talks on giving Singapore Airlines (SIA) the right to fly the Australia-U.S. route, Transport Minister Yeo Cheow Tong said on Wednesday.
"The Australian officials are due to visit us in two weeks' time and we'll then know what progress we can expect," Yeo told reporters in response to a question on a potential full "open skies" agreement between the two nations.
Yeo said both parties were actively working towards resolving the thorny issue of SIA securing access to the lucrative Australia-U.S. route following a partial agreement in 2003.
"Between (Australian) Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson and me, we had announced that we hoped to finalize a roadmap by the middle of the year so we hope to keep to that target," he said, referring to recent talks.
In the 2003 agreement, Australian flag carrier Qantas was granted unrestricted rights to fly into Singapore's Changi airport and onwards, giving the airline greater access to European destinations.
Qantas, however, successfully lobbied the Australian government to deny SIA similar access to fly from Australia to the United States, which is one of the Australian carrier's most profitable routes.
In a speech at the site of Singapore's upcoming low-cost terminal, Yeo said Singapore needed to maintain a booming tourism sector to stimulate its economy and would thus continue to pursue "open skies" agreements with all interested nations.
"We are ready to conclude open skies agreements with all countries that are willing to do so as such agreements are of mutual benefit to the partner countries, their economies and their people," he said.
A Transport Ministry spokeswoman said the Australian aviation officials who would be coming to Singapore this month are from a working group set up for concluding the bilateral open skies agreement.