Morocco, Chile want aviation pacts with PHL

CEBu CITY—Morocco and Chile are looking at crafting air-traffic deals with the Philippines this year to strengthen their separate bilateral relations with Manila, a ranking government official said on Monday.

Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) Executive Director Carmelo L. Arcilla noted that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will be leading the air talks, as the Philippines has yet to sign air-services agreements with Morocco and Chile.

“There [is] a lot of interest for air talks, but most of them will involve original agreements. They are mostly not the demands of the market, but nonetheless, we also respond to diplomatic requirements,” he said on the sidelines of Routes Asia 2019.

Air negotiations are usually mounted to craft a new or amend an existing agreement between two nations to allow their carriers to mount or increase flights between two or more points. These are measured by either number of flights or seats.

Arcilla explained that the two countries are seeking the air talks to “strengthen their bilateral agreements” with the Philippines, hence the interest for the setting up of air talks.

No dates have been agreed so far.

He noted that, despite the lack of demand for direct flights between Manila and Santiago, and Manila and Rabat, it always pays to craft agreements with different territories for future proofing.

“It’s always good to have these kinds of agreements with other countries so that once the demand is there, the airlines can simply seek for frequencies via the existing agreements,” Arcilla said.