The aeronautical authorities of Macao SAR and the State of Qatar concluded the bilateral Air Services Agreement (ASA) discussions today in Macao and initialed the Agreement, officially building the foundation and the framework for operating the air transport market between the two places.

The two parties met at the office of the Civil Aviation Authority of Macao SAR (AACM) on 11 October 2018 and agreed to adopt open skies for the operation of scheduled services between the two places. The discussions were held in a friendly and cordial atmosphere. The two aeronautical authorities exchanged with each other the development of their aviation markets and eventually initialed the “Agreement between the Government of the State of Qatar and the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China for Air Services”. Qatar Airways will operate their all-cargo services with two weekly frequencies commencing 15 October 2018, the flights of which are approved by both aeronautical authorities.

The bilateral ASA and the MOU denote the liberal criteria: both parties agree to grant to each other the fifth freedom traffic rights and put no limitations on the frequency and the aircraft type for the operation of both passenger and cargo flights; the designated airlines of both sides can cooperate with each other on code-share operations.

The President of AACM, Mr. Chan Weng Hong and the Director of Air Transport and Airport Affairs, the Civil Aviation Authority of the State of Qatar, Mr. Mohamed Faleh Al Hajri, represented the two governments to initial the Agreement and sign the MOU. The delegations comprised both the aviation officials and the industry players, the latter participating as observers in the meeting. 

Up till this present moment, Macao SAR has concluded bilateral ASAs with 50 foreign countries.