MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile and EU sign “original” air agreement

Chile and the European Union signed an original air agreement by which all European carriers can operate between Chile and any EU member country, eliminating existing restrictions in bilateral agreements.

The deal was signed in Luxembourg by EU vice-president Jacqus Barrot, Chilean Transport minister Jaime Estevez and British counterpart, Alistair Darling, since UK currently chairs the EU.

The agreement states that all EU carriers can as from now operate flights between Chile and any EU country member, a possibility that was limited to those companies which had bilateral air agreements with Chile.

"The agreement recognizes that EU member air companies are no longer national carriers but European, which means a big advance for our foreign air policy", explained Commissioner Barrot.

For the EU the agreement "is an important step towards expanding relations between the EU and Chile in the aviation field".

The following step is the negotiation of a more global and ambitious agreement with the purpose of ensuring air security cooperation; protection of the environment and passengers as well as competition rules between air carriers.

Air traffic between Chile and the EU totals 600.000 passengers annually and 31.000 tons of freight.