State Civil Aviation Administration waits for signal from EU to open talks on airspace liberalization

The European Commission pledged to support Moldova in implementing reforms to liberalize the airspace, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Iurie Leanca said, stressing this support is very important as the reforms imply costs and effort, Info-Prim Neo reports. In the meeting of the governmental commission for European integration, Deputy Minister of Transport and Road Infrastructure Boris Gherasim said the subject was discussed within the Moldova-EU cooperation subcommittee No. 4. The European Commission offered two possibilities – signing a separate agreement to establish a common airspace with Moldova and signing an agreement allowing Moldova to join the airspace created by the EU and its partner and neighboring countries, like Croatia, Norway, Serbia and others. Boris Gherasim said that no matter what option is chosen, Moldova is to negotiate and sign a document on the liberalization of its airspace.”The Ministry of Transport and Road Infrastructure and the State Civil Aviation Administration are ready to open the talks whenever the relevant European authorities ask for this,” he said. Prime Minister Vlad Filat stressed that the Cabinet undertook to liberalize the air services, including in the government program. “It is not right for the people of a country with a low Gross Domestic Product per capita to pay for plane tickets more than the people of the EU member states and the countries of the region,” the Premier said. In March this year, a number of organizations of Moldovans living or working abroad sent an open letter to the leaders of the Alliance for European Integration, asking hastening the liberalization of air transportation in Moldova and facilitating the access of low-cost companies to the market. “Today Moldova is the most expensive air travel destination in Europe. The flights to Chisinau are several times more expensive than the flights to any other European country, including Moldova's neighbors – Romania and Ukraine, or the small countries in the Balkans,” the letter reads. According to estimates included in the letter, a family of two adults and a child has to pay about €1,200 to fly to Chisinau, whereas a round-trip airfare from London to Kiev or Bucharest is about €100.