New open-skies agreement

Singapore said on Monday it has reached open-skies agreements with Jamaica and Barbados, its first with any CARICOM country.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said in a statement that similar deals were also reached with Brazil and Rwanda at the International Civil Aviation Organisation Air Services Negotiation Conference 2010 (ICAN 2010) held in Montego Bay, late June.

CAAS said direct air links with Singapore would allow businesses in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean to access more markets by "tapping on Singapore's excellent connectivity to the Asia-Pacific region".

CAAS said this would reinforce the growing people and trade flows between these regions the Asia-Pacific.

"The establishment of liberal air services frameworks between Singapore and more countries in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean pave the way for such benefits," it added, stating that there are currently no direct flight connections between Singapore and Latin America and the Caribbean.

"The open-skies agreements that Singapore and these countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America have concluded, recognise the benefits that they can bring to airlines, the travelling public and the wider economy through increased trade, tourism and people flows," said CAAS director general Yap Ong Heng.

CMC