Trade and tourism opportunities are set to flow thanks to the Australian Government's agreement to expand air services arrangements with Fiji and the Philippines.
Deputy Prime Minister, Nationals' Leader and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said the revised arrangements with Fiji would increase passenger capacity by more than 20 per cent—the largest such increase since 1999.
"Whether it's more people travelling to and from the Asia-Pacific on holiday or new opportunities for farmers and regional communities through trade with the region's markets, this announcement will help create jobs and opportunities in communities around Australia," Mr McCormack said.
"It supports our tourism, trade and cultural links between Australia and Fiji. More than 388,000 passengers travelled between Australia and Fiji in the year to June 2018.
"Similarly, updated arrangements with the Philippines will strengthen our relationship with what is an important and growing bilateral aviation market, expanding at an average of 9.2 per cent over the past five years.
"Australian and Filipino airlines will be able to operate an unlimited number of freight services, supporting two-way trade valued at more than $4billion in 2017. For farmers and exporters, this means even more opportunities to access Asia's growing markets.
"Passenger capacity entitlements will also increase by 15 per cent over the next six months to accommodate expected growth in services in the coming years."
The Australian Government continues to pursue greater liberalisation of our aviation markets with key countries, with these latest announcements following the significant expansion of air services arrangements between Australia and India in June 2018.
