Canada signs air agreement with Egypt

OTTAWA: Canada has reached an expanded air transport agreement with Egypt.

The agreement, announced December 21, lets airlines operate more flights between Canada and Egypt, and allows them to adjust travel prices according to market forces. Airlines can offer services using the flights of other airlines, known as code-sharing services.

“This new agreement will support Canada’s strong and diverse commercial relationship with Egypt, a regional centre for trade and investment,” said Peter Van Loan, minister of international trade. “Our government is committed to facilitating the movement of goods, services and people around the world, and this new agreement will help Canadian companies to do just that.”

The agreement is being applied on an administrative basis so airlines can offer new services immediately. Once ratified, the expanded agreement will replace the 1987 Canada-Egypt bilateral air transport agreement.

Since the launch of the Blue Sky policy in November 2006, Canada has negotiated air transport agreements with over 50 countries.

The Canadian government also announced on December 20 an open skies agreement with Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. According to the government, the agreements give airlines more flexibility for route selection, frequency of service and price setting. New air services can begin immediately.

As well, the government announced Enerjet will operate air services between Canada and Guyana, and Air Transat will run flights between Canada and Turkey. These designations were made possible by the 2005 Canada-Guyana and 2009 Canada-Turkey air transport agreements.