ASEAN PROTOCOL 5 EXTENDS ACCESS FOR FLIGHTS, TRADE AMONG ASEAN MEMBERS - LOKE

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 22 (Bernama) -- The signing of the Protocol 5 on Own Stopover Rights between Points within the Territory of any other ASEAN Member State can increase air connectivity and trade in the region, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook.

He said the protocol is expected to come into force next year upon receiving approval from all ASEAN member states.

“After all (ASEAN) countries sign it, it will come into force, here in Kuala Lumpur we have finalised it and many countries will sign (this protocol) for example Vietnam soon. But there are one or two countries that have not yet signed and we will circulate (this protocol) to them.

“After they sign, it means this protocol will come into force by next year. However, there is still an instrument after this signing process where the ASEAN secretariat will have to finalise,” he said in a press conference in conjunction with the 30th ASEAN Transport Ministers (ATM) and The 58th Senior Transport Officials Meetings (STOM) here today.

In addition, he said that with the existence of the ASEAN Protocol 5, airlines can continue flights from one destination to another in the ASEAN region.

“For example, we go to Singapore from a Kuala Lumpur flight, then from Singapore we can continue the flight to Bali, Indonesia. So this is an important protocol for airlines because even though we have the ASEAN Open Sky Policy, it is only a two end flow.

“Meaning that the flight goes to one place and returns to the original destination. But with this new protocol, they can stop-over and go to the next stop in ASEAN countries. This is an improvement, progress in the aviation sector at the ASEAN level,” he said.

Loke said this policy is seen as facilitating and benefiting airlines, especially those in Malaysia such as Air Asia, Batik Air Malaysia and Malaysia Airlines which have many flights in the ASEAN region.

In addition, he said the ASEAN New Zealand-Air Service Agreement and its Protocol 1 resulting from the meeting also marked an important step in strengthening aviation relations between ASEAN and New Zealand.

“This agreement expands market access for airlines, supports economic cooperation, and facilitates people-to-people contacts, thereby deepening relations between the two regions,” he said.

-- BERNAMA