Singapore Concludes Open Skies Agreement with Oman

Agreement allows passenger and cargo airlines to operate unlimited flights between each country

Singapore has concluded an Open Skies Agreement (OSA) with the Sultanate of Oman to allow for full flexibility for air services operated by carriers of both countries. The agreement was reached during the air services consultations which took place in Singapore on 19 and 20 January 2009. The Memorandum of Understanding on Air Services was signed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS)'s Deputy Director-General (Development), Mr Tan Lye Teck, and H.E. Mohamed Bin Sakhar Al-Amri, Undersecretary for Civil Aviation Affairs, Oman.

The OSA between Singapore and Oman allows Singapore carriers to operate any number of passenger and cargo flights between Singapore and points in Oman, as well as beyond Oman to any other city in the world. Likewise, carriers of Oman may operate any number of flights to and beyond Singapore. With this, Singapore has concluded OSAs with five countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

"I am glad that both Singapore and Oman have concluded an open skies agreement, allowing carriers of both countries to take advantage of the immense growth opportunities in air travel between Singapore and the Middle East," said Mr Lim Kim Choon, Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, CAAS. He added that, "In 2008, passenger traffic between Singapore and the Middle East grew significantly by 15% compared to the previous year. Indeed, the Middle East is a region where we continue to see increases in air services even during such economically challenging times."

With the Singapore-Oman OSA, Singapore has concluded OSAs with more than 30 countries.

To date, Changi Airport is served by 84 scheduled airlines operating more than 4,600 weekly scheduled flights to 191 cities in 60 countries.

For more information, please contact:

Constanze Chia (Ms)
Assistant Manager (Corporate Communications)
Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore
Tel: (65) 6541 2086
Fax: (65) 6545 6222
Email: constanze_chia@caas.gov.sg