The civil aviation authorities of Qatar and Antigua and Barbuda held bilateral talks yesterday during the International Conference on Air Services Negotiations “ICAN 2023” in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, taking place from December 3 to 7.
The discussions resulted in the initial signing of an open skies air services agreement between the two countries, along with a memorandum of understanding allowing designated carriers to operate passenger and cargo flights without restrictions on numbers, entering into arrangements under the common designation code among designated airlines.
The Qatari side signed the agreement, represented by Mr. Mohamed Falah Al-Hajri, Acting Undersecretary of the General Authority of Civil Aviation, while Antigua and Barbuda was represented by Mr. Brian Challenger, Senior Technical Advisor at the Ministry of Tourism, and Civil Aviation.
In October last year, Qatar signed a similar initial air services agreement with Grenada. The agreement was signed by His Excellency Mr. Jassim bin Saif Al-Sulaiti, Minister of Transport for Qatar, and by Mr. Dickon Mitchell, Prime Minister, Minister of Infrastructure, Civil Aviation, and Transport for Grenada.
Additionally, in January 2023, Al-Sulaiti, along with His Excellency Mr. Alva Rommell Baptiste, Minister for Civil Aviation, External Affairs, and International Trade of Saint Lucia, signed an air services agreement between Qatar and Saint Lucia.
These agreements are part of Qatar’s strategy to establish air services agreements that expand the national carrier’s network and reach to more global destinations.
