Canada’s Airports Urge Transport Minister to Say “Yes” to Open Aviation Area Talks with Europe

Tuesday, January 9, 2007 -

Canada’s Airports Urge Transport Minister to Say “Yes” to Open Aviation Area Talks with Europe

OTTAWA (Jan. 9, 2007) – The Canadian Airports Council today welcomed the European Commission’s proposal to open negotiations with Canada for the pursuit of an Open Aviation Area across the North Atlantic, and urged the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities to make concluding an agreement a priority for the coming months.

“Canada has signalled to the world that it is ready to embrace air service liberalization with its new Blue Sky policy, and now the European Union has answered our call,” said Canadian Airports Council President and CEO Jim Facette.“An Open Aviation Area with our second biggest trading bloc and source of tourists is a natural next step and would be a boon for Canadian communities and the travelling public by allowing for more choice and competition.”

The EU is Canada’s second biggest trading partner after the U.S., with some $70.1 billion in imports/exports.Traffic between Canada and the EU has doubled between 2000 and 2005 and the EU is Canada’s second largest source of tourists.More than half of Canada’s overseas tourists hail from Europe.

An Open Aviation Agreement with the European Union would replace individual bilateral agreements between Canada and 17 individual members of the 25-member EU and would pursue a regime consistent with the vision of Canada’s recently announced Blue Sky policy.As many of Canada’s individual bilateral agreements with individual EU members contain heavy restrictions, an Open Aviation Agreement also would liberalize Canada’s air regime with all of the EU’s 25 member states in one shot.

According to a study launched by the European Commission, the number of passengers between the EU and Canada would increase from eight million now to 14 million by 2011. In addition, the EC estimates that an Open Aviation Area would generate consumer benefits of at least $110 million through lower fares and could create 3,700 jobs in the first year.

“Throughout 2006, the CAC called on the federal government to take a new approach to international air policy, including a multi-lateral approach to the EU,” said Mr. Facette.“An Open Aviation Agreement with Europe would remove outdated barriers on airlines from both sides to operate between Canada and Europe, allowing travel companies to provide service that better responds to market demand.”

About the Canadian Airports Council

The Canadian Airports Council (CAC) is the voice for Canada’s airports.Its 45 members encompass more than 150 airports, including all of the National Airports System (NAS) airports and most significant municipal airports in every province and territory. Together, CAC members handle virtually all of the nation’s air cargo and international passenger traffic and 95% of domestic passenger traffic.They create well in excess of $30 billion in economic activity in the communities they serve.And more than 150,000 jobs are directly associated with CAC member airports, generating a payroll of more than $8 billion annually.

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