The voice of Canada’s airports.
Monday, April 24, 2006 -
OTTAWA (April 24, 2006) – The Canadian Airports Council (CAC) today commended the federal government for reaching an historic Open Skies agreement with the United Kingdom – one of Canada’s biggest air markets.
“An Open Skies
agreement with the important U.K.
market is good news for Canadian airports and the communities they serve,” said
Canadian Airports Council President and CEO Jim Facette.“Open Skies agreements such as the one
announced Friday result in increased air service, which lowers costs and
enables Canadian communities to participate more fully in the global economy.”
The agreement
announced Friday removes restrictions on service by Canadian airlines to and
from third countries via the U.K.
and allows British carriers to operate to and from third countries via Canada.It also removes restrictions on pricing for
these flights.
The CAC is a
strong supporter of international air service liberalization and has requested
observer status at bilateral air talks between Canada and foreign nations.The CAC was granted observer status at the
fall 2005 talks between Canada
and the U.S.
– talks that also resulted in the conclusion of an historic open skies
agreement.
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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