On Friday 7 June, the European Union and Bangladesh signed a Horizontal Aviation Agreement. This agreement will allow any EU airline to fly between Bangladesh and any of the seven EU Member States whose bilateral air services agreements with Bangladesh do not already allow this.
Previously, these bilateral air services agreements only authorised airlines owned and controlled by the signatory Member State or its nationals to operate flights between that country and the third country. By granting all EU air carriers non-discriminatory access to routes between the EU and Bangladesh, this agreement promotes open and fair competition and will improve connectivity.
This agreement “will provide more opportunities to develop long-haul services to the Bangladeshi market and demonstrates the commitment of the EU and Bangladesh to improving their aviation relationship and boosting connectivity”, said Adina Vălean, European Commissioner for Transport, in a statement. (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)