Guyana wraps up negotiations on air services pacts with eight countries

Guyana participated in the 12th International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Air Services Negotiation Event (ICAN2019) from December 2nd to December 6th in Aqaba, Jordan, where it concluded the negotiation of Air Services Agreements with eight countries.

In a statement issued on Friday, the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) said Guyana was able to conclude negotiation of Air Services Agreements with Senegal, Seychelles, The Bahamas, Paraguay, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Greece and Spain.

The eight Air Services Agreements were initialed and Memoranda of Understanding were signed with the countries at the technical level, pending signature at the ministerial level. The statement noted that Air Services Agreements initialed and Memoranda of Understanding are provisionally applicable until the Air Services Agreements are signed by both parties and enter into force. “This means that the negotiated agreements are immediately applicable for traffic rights between Guyana and these countries,” it said.

Additionally, the GCAA also noted that negotiations were initiated with six countries—Ethiopia, Jamaica, Bangladesh,

Austria, Thailand and Belgium—and continued with Sierra Leone, which Guyana met at ICAN 2018 in Kenya.

An Air Services Agreement, according to the statement, is an instrument used by states to jointly regulate, facilitate and promote their international air services relationships for their airlines. It said Air Services Agreements govern traffic rights for international air services among airlines between two countries. These agreements are necessary for the development of a state’s international air transport network as they create the infrastructure that allow airlines of one state to access new markets and develop their network. The benefits of such connectivity include trade, global inclusivity, economic development, tourism growth, inter alia.

The objective of ICAN, the GCAA said, is to provide states with a central meeting place to conduct bilateral (regional or plurilateral) air services negotiations and consultations with other member states of ICAO.

According to the GCAA, Guyana, as a matter of policy, negotiates open skies (liberal) Air Services Agreements, granting up to fifth freedom traffic rights for passenger traffic and up to seventh freedom for all-cargo traffic.