Macao and Japan initialed bilateral Air Services Agreement and renewed Record of Discussions regarding the air transport market between the two places

The Civil Aviation Authority of Macao SAR (AACM) met the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Japan, on 18 and 19 May 2009 respectively to discuss a new Record of Discussions regarding the air transport market between the two places and the bilateral Air Services Agreement. The meetings were held in a friendly and cordial atmosphere. The two sides renewed the Record of Discussions on 18 May in which commencing March 2010, in addition to operating scheduled air services to all other destinations in Japan, Macao’s airlines can also fly to Tokyo (which is prohibited presently) on a scheduled basis with three frequencies per week. Macao and Japan also initialed the bilateral Air Services Agreement on 19 May 2009, establishing the legal framework for the operation of scheduled air services between the two places. At present, the air services between Macao and Japan are operated based on the Record of Discussions which was signed between the two sides in January 2008. In accordance with this Record of Discussions, the airlines of both sides are allowed to operate scheduled services between Macao and all points of Japan with no limitation on capacity, but for Tokyo, the airlines of Macao do not have the scheduled services right but are only permitted to fly charter flights. During the meeting on 18 May, the two sides therefore focused on the discussion about the operation of scheduled services by Macao’s airlines to Tokyo. The two parties exchanged views and eventually signed a new Record of Discussed. Given the situation that both the Narita Airport and the Haneda Airport are facing slot saturation problem at present, the new Record of Discussions allows Macao’s airlines to fly to the Marita Airport in Tokyo with three weekly frequencies commencing March 2010 when the airport has increased its capacity by that time. In addition, to establish the legal framework for the operation of scheduled services, AACM and MOFA held air consultations on 19 May in which both sides reached consensus on the provisions and initialed the bilateral Air Services Agreement. The Agreement will be officially signed pending the completion of the internal legal procedures of both sides required for bringing the Agreement into force. At both meetings, AACM gave an overview on the Japanese tourist profile in Macao: in accordance with the official statistics, the number of Japanese tourists to Macao increased from 122,184 in 2004 to 370,409 in 2008, with an average increase of 30% year on year. Japan ranked the fifth position in the inbound tourist market in Macao. Despite the global financial crisis resulting from the economic tsunami last year, the number of Japanese tourists to Macao still reported a remarkable growth. Among the Japanese tourists to Macao, only less than 10% came to Macao by air. Given this factual account, both sides agreed there is a big potential in exploring the air transport market between Macao and Japan. The Macao and the Japanese delegations of both sides included representatives from AACM, Air Macao, Viva Macau and CAM-Macau International Airport Co. Ltd. from the Macao side and representatives from MLIT, MOFA, Japan Airlines International, All Nippon Airways and Nippon Cargo Airlines from the Japanese side. The signatories were the President of AACM, Mr. Chan Weng Hong, the Director of International Air Transport Division, Civil Aviation Bureau of MLIT, Mr. Hiroshi Narahira and the Director of Japan-China Economic Affairs Division, Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, MOFA, Mr. Masashi Ogawa. Air Macau has commenced scheduled operations to Osaka since July 2007 and presently operates a daily service. Viva Macau has started charter services to Tokyo since December 2007 with 2 weekly flights. Both operations have generated good market yields. The Macao delegation also paid a visit to the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China on 20 May 2009 which was received by the Minister, Mr. Kong Xuanyou. The Macao delegation thanked the Embassy for its long-term support and assistance rendered to the establishment of the Air Services Agreement between Macao and Japan. The delegation also gave a brief report about the results of the meetings to the Minister who has reiterated the Embassy’s continuous support and assistance to the development of the air transport market between Macao and Japan in the future.