New air transport agreements Canada has secured with countries in the Caribbean, Middle East, Asia and Africa could mean more destinations and new flight routes leaving out of YVR, but not for several years.
On Wednesday, federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau announced Canada has signed new or expanded agreements with St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Algeria, Qatar, Jordan, Côte-d'Ivoire and Mongolia.
“These new and expanded agreements provide air carriers with additional flexibility to serve these growing markets, which is good news for travellers, shippers and the air transport industry," Garneau said in a news release.
YVR, meanwhile, said it could take several years for the benefits from these agreements to be realized by passengers
“Introducing new routes and greater market access for our airlines is often a multi-year process,” said director of air service development Carl Jones.
But he said the airport is pleased to see the new air transport agreements, and it supports all opportunity to bring new services to passengers.
“We look forward to looking at the additional access these agreements provides for Air Canada, WestJet and our international airlines.”
The new agreement with St. Vincent and the Grenadines allows an unlimited number of passenger and cargo flights to and from the country.
The expanded agreements with Algeria, Qatar and Jordan allow designated airlines to operate more flights per week to and from Canada. The expanded Canada-Jordan agreement also allows certain airlines to serve any city in the other country's territory.
The agreements with Côte-d'Ivoire and Mongolia bring flexible code-sharing regimes. That means one carrier can sell seats on a flight operated by another carrier. It allows airlines to expand their network and product offerings.
