After several years in the making, the US and Moldova finally officiated an Open Skies agreement on May 18th during a political visit to the capital city of Chișinău. Under the newly minted agreement, a bilateral civil aviation relationship between the two friendly nations will be forged to include numerous opportunities.
First bilateral air transport agreement
The Open Skies Air Transport Agreement between the US and Moldova first came underway sometime in late 2017 to early 2018 when the approval procedure started, and the document was officially detailed and initialed in November three years ago. Based on the initialed agreement, Moldovan air cargo companies could already conduct flight operations to the US.
However, more authorizations were required before commercial flights could be conducted from Moldova to the US – where today’s establishment of the Open Skies Agreement comes in. The final piece of this process was signed by the US Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard R. Verma and Moldova Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Lilia Dabija.
Prime Minister Dorin Recean was also present to represent Moldova, and this is currently the first bilateral air transport agreement between the two nations and builds on a framework of US Open Skies Agreements with over 130 other partners and further connects the US economy to growing markets. The US Department of State commented:
“The Agreement establishes a modern civil aviation relationship with Moldova. It includes unrestricted capacity and frequency of services, open route rights, a liberal charter regime, and open codesharing opportunities. The Agreement will be applied provisionally once signed and will enter into force following an exchange of diplomatic notes confirming that all necessary internal procedures for entry into force of the Agreement have been completed.”
Expanding opportunities between the two countries
Under the new agreement, the civil aviation relationship between the US and Moldova will help expand both nation’s economic and commercial sectors as it promotes people-to-people ties. New opportunities will be created for airlines to launch new routes and provide cheaper, more convenient, and highly efficient flight services to boost tourism and business traffic.
This could mean the beginning of US carriers starting flight services to Moldova – best known for its world-class locally-produced wine, unique ancient monasteries, and endless views of open countryside, a suitable destination for airlines to market towards leisure and family-type passengers.
Photo: Fasttailwind | Shutterstock
Similarly, Moldovan carriers like Air Moldova, FlyOne, and HiSky Airlines could establish partnerships with the US carriers after the latter party has established the first few new air routes between the two countries and then allow their US counterparts to expand through their domestic network in Moldova and beyond.
Bottom line
It’d be interesting to see which airline will be among the first few to launch new, non-stop flights from the US to Moldova or even vice versa, as the appeal of the European country is certainly there for history, food, and art lovers. Perhaps any future established routes might be seasonal too, but only time will tell what’s to come.
Which airline do you think will begin launching new routes to Moldova? Let us know in the comments below.
