US Congress ‘removes open skies hurdles’
The US Congress has agreed not to block a Bush administration plan to allow foreign investors more management control of American carriers.
The move paves the way for an long-awaited new aviation treaty between the US and the European Union.
The open skies agreement would allow EU and US airlines to fly wherever they want and change whatever they want for flights across the Atlantic.
According to the Washington Post, House and Senate negotiators in Washington agreed to drop language from a spending bill that would have delayed the plan.
Under current restrictions only two UK and two US airlines – British Airways, Virgin Atlantic American Airlines and United – are able to fly from London Heathrow to the US while carrriers such as bmi have been lobbying hard to open key transatlantic routes to more competition.
Report by Phil Davies
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