Iceland concludes eight bilateral air services agreements
Iceland participated along with 77 states in the busy Air Services Negotiation Event (ICAN2014) organized by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), on 17 – 21 November in Bali, Indonesia with the satisfactory outcome of eight new bilateral air services agreements with Armenia, Burundi, Ethiopia, Guyana, Mauritius, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Chad.
In addition to this, the existing agreement with Egypt was amended and discussions were held on the content and the framework of future agreements with Ecuador, Nepal and the Republic of Congo. Iceland also discussed the current implementation of bilateral agreements with Canada, Russia, Thailand and Turkey. Finally, Iceland and Norway had talks with Morocco regarding the possibility of joining the Euro-Mediterranean agreement in the field of aviation between Morocco and the EU.
In view of the growing economic importance of the Icelandic aviation industry, the conclusion of bilateral air transport agreements is a priority. Iceland has now made a total of 90 bilateral agreements. These agreements are reciprocal in nature with regard to transportation of passengers and cargo and grant both contracting parties the right to fly to and from their home states and in many cases also to and from a third state.
The Icelandic delegation was chaired by Ambassador Kristján Andri Stefánsson and composed of Mr Gunnar Örn Indriðason, lawyer at the Ministry of the Interior and Mrs. Kristín Helga Markúsardóttir, Head of Legal Section at the Icelandic Transport Authority.