Trinidad and Tobago signs bilateral air service agreement with Curacao

TT has signed a bilateral air service agreement with Curacao.

Speaking on Friday at the signing ceremony, Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan said the signing signifies the culmination of an almost decade-long negotiation.

The ministry said in a press release that the signing “heralds a new era of connectivity, enabling seamless travel opportunities.”

It said the agreement will “create avenues for Caribbean Airlines and Curacao's designated airlines to enhance their air services and facilitate more extensive commercial route development between the regions.”

The ministry said the agreement will also foster economic growth, bolster tourism opportunities and enhance trade relations between the two countries.

Curacao’s Minister of Traffic Transportation and Urban Planning, Charles Cooper, said, “The new treaty, which falls under the open skies category, aims to regulate aviation connections between Curacao and TT, providing the greatest operational and commercial freedom.”

He said the lack of intra-regional flights between many Caribbean nations, inclusive of Curacao and TT, is evidence of the need for more air service agreements of this nature.

Sinanan added, “This agreement allows us to look forward to a future of strengthened ties, increased connectivity and mutual prosperity.”

He said this agreement was the first of many planned agreements with other countries.

“We have the agreement with Qatar to be signed by February, then we go on to sign Ghana soon after that. There are also agreements in the pipeline that we will roll out next year.”