THE Philippines and Malaysia have agreed to further liberalize the air-traffic rights between them by modernizing their air-services pact which was last expanded in 2011.
“The Philippines and Malaysia signed last Wednesday in Manila a new agreement that increased by 100 percent the capacity between Manila and Kuala Lumpur from the previous 4,820 seats per week to 9,640,” Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) Executive Director Carmelo L. Arcilla said in a text message late Thursday. The modernized air-services agreement also expanded the capacity between all points in Malaysia to all points in the Philippines, except the capital, from 2,000 to unlimited seats per week. “It is a growing market in terms of tourism and trade. Malaysia is one of our major markets,” Arcilla said.
The last air talks between the two countries were held in Kuala Lumpur in 2011.
“The new agreement will allow our airlines to expand on the routes between the Philippines and Malaysia, especially because the market continues to grow and our airlines have been fully utilizing their entitlements,” the official added. Negotiations with Malaysia were postponed twice this year due to two separate incidents involving flag carrier Malaysia Airlines.
Data from the Department of Tourism showed that the number of visitors from Malaysia rose by 24.3 percent to 78,149 tourists during the first seven months of the year.
The Filipino air panel will also meet with its Australian counterpart sometime in November to further liberalize its current air-services agreement with the said nation.
The CAB aims to improve the situation of passenger traffic by increasing seat entitlements as part of its drive to expand air-traffic rights.
The country’s air-services regulator has so far concluded nine negotiations this year, yielding additional flights that would facilitate richer trade and tourism. It bagged additional entitlements from Hong Kong, Ethiopia, South Africa, Macau, Canada, Myanmar, New Zealand, Singapore and France.
The government aims to generate $4.6 billion in tourism revenues by the end of the Aquino administration. It also aims to attract 6 million tourists and create 3 million jobs by 2016. This would allow the sector to contribute 6.35 percent to the gross domestic product.