Singapore, Uruguay sign liberal open skies agreement

Singapore and Uruguay on Wednesday signed a new open skies agreement, which the Transport Ministry of Singapore said is "more liberal than conventional" ones. The agreement goes beyond allowing designated airlines to fly between Singapore and Uruguay, via and beyond to any third country. It also provides for hubbing and cabotage rights for carriers of both countries. Under hubbing rights, Singapore carriers will be allowed to base their aircraft in Uruguay and use Uruguay as a hub to operate to any other country without restrictions on capacity, frequency or aircraft type. Uruguay carriers can do so likewise in Singapore. "The cabotage rights allow Singapore carriers to operate like a domestic carrier in Uruguay and to mount any number of services between Uruguay cities, and vice versa," the ministry said. The agreement was signed by Singapore's Parliamentary Secretary for Transport Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim and Uruguay's Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Luis Porto on Wednesday. Singapore now has air services agreements with more than 120 countries, including over 50 open sky agreements.