Macau and Philippines sign new Air Services Agreement

The Civil Aviation Authority of Macao SAR and the Civil Aeronautics Board of the Republic of the Philippines signed a bilateral Air Services Agreement (ASA) to ease capacity restrictions and open fifth-freedom rights for cargo operations.

Talks were held on October 8 and 9 to initiate a new ASA and to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) replacing the 1997 document signed on July 18.

The new agreement is also the first bilateral ASA established since the current-term SAR government took office.

Under the new agreement, passenger capacity restrictions have been significantly revised.

Manila capacity has been tripled to 20,000 seats, while other routes will have no capacity limits.

For cargo operations, the Clark route continues to have no capacity restrictions, while the cargo quota for other routes has been substantially increased to 600 tonnes per party per week.

Furthermore, both parties have agreed to fully liberalize fifth freedom rights for cargo operations, giving freighter services greater opportunities for commercial expansion on routes between the two places.

Since Macau and the Philippines signed their first bilateral ASA, the aeronautical authorities of both places have updated the MOU four times to meet evolving needs.

With more than a decade since the last update, the original terms may no longer align with Macau’s current aviation development objectives.

The newly reached agreement further relaxes restrictions, aligning with the government’s objective to consolidate its presence in the Southeast Asian market.