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ASEAN, EU sign world’s first bloc-to-bloc air transport agreement
A world-first block-to-block air transportation agreement between the ASEAN and the European Union promises passengers an increased number of flights and more destinations for travel between the two regions.
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A Garuda Indonesia airplane is parked at Soekarno Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, on May 14. (AFP/Chaideer Mahyuddin)
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world-first block-to-block air transportation agreement between ASEAN and the European Union promises passengers an increased number of flights and more destinations for travel between the two regions.
The member states of ASEAN and of the EU signed the Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement (ASEAN-EU CATA) at the 28th ASEAN Transport Ministers’ Meeting in Bali on Monday, according to a press release issued on the same day.
The ASEAN-EU CATA was long in the making; its signature follows negotiations that commenced in 2016 and were concluded at the Extraordinary ASEAN-EU Senior Transport Officials Meeting on June 2, 2021, apart from translation work and assessments described as “legal scrubbing”.
“The agreement will provide greater opportunities for airlines of ASEAN and the EU to operate passenger and cargo services between and beyond both regions, which will help bolster the recovery of air connectivity between the two regions following the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to the joint press release.
“Passengers can look forward to a greater variety of destinations, more flight frequencies, and more travel options between South-East Asia and Europe,” the release adds.
Under the ASEAN-EU CATA, airlines of the member states will be able to fly any number of services between the two regions. Airlines of each country of one bloc will be able to fly up to 14 weekly passenger services and any number of cargo services to each country of the other bloc via any third country or beyond to any third country.
The statement furthermore hails the agreement as a foundation for closer cooperation between ASEAN and the EU “in areas such as aviation safety, air traffic management, consumer protection, and environmental and social matters.”
