Cullen Welcomes Draft "Open Skies" Agreement Between U.S. And E.U.

Bilateral Irish-American Agreement From 2005 Makes Final Draft

The Transport Minister, Martin Cullen, T.D., warmly welcomed the draft aviation agreement which was reached last Friday in Brussels between negotiators for the European Union and the USA.

Senior Officials from the Department of Transport formed part of the European delegation.

If this draft agreement is accepted by the Transport Council meeting in Brussels on 22 March next, it will replace the existing bilateral agreement between the US and the individual member states of the European Union.

Minister Cullen said: "This was a good day for Irish tourism, Irish aviation and the Irish economy."

Welcoming the draft agreement, which was announced by Jacques Barrot, Vice President of the Commission, Minister Cullen said: "'I am delighted with the progress that has been made this week by the European and American negotiating teams. 

"This is a wonderful opportunity for countries on both sides of the Atlantic.   

"As Transport Minister, I am committed to increasing air services linking Ireland to key business and tourism sectors and this draft agreement offers new opportunities for Irish airports and Aer Lingus.

He also welcomed the incorporation of the 2005 bilateral agreement between Ireland and the U.S., saying that he was, "delighted that the transitional bilateral agreed for Shannon in November 2005, between myself and the US Secretary for Transportation, Norman Mineta is part of the proposed draft agreement. 

"This means that Shannon Airport will be given the opportunity to adjust to an EU-US Open Skies agreement."

During the transition period, which will run from April 30th to April next year, the ratio of Dublin and Shannon flights will move from 1:1 to 3:1 so that for every one flight to or from Shannon, a carrier can provide three flights to or from Dublin.

The ratio can be averaged out over the period of the transition.

At present Aer Lingus is limited to serving four cities in the USA - New York, Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Under the terms of the previous transitional agreement, Aer Lingus will now have the opportunity to serve an additional three cities during the transition phase and will have unconstrained access to the entire American market once Open Skies start next year.

Minister Cullen said: "The Aer Lingus IPO was undertaken to enable the company to access the capital required to build its fleet and implement an expansion of its business plan.

"Finalisation of this proposed EU-US open skies agreement will allow this business plan to be implemented with positive consequences for the airline, its staff and its customers."