The Diplomat
Last August 20, the Air Transport Agreement between Spain and Saudi Arabia came into force, whose main objective is to increase air connectivity between the two countries and, therefore, the flow of trade and travelers.
The agreement was initialed during the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) air services negotiations conference held in Bali, Indonesia, on November 21, 2014, and was finalized in Madrid on March 26, 2018, with the aim of updating the legal framework that provides coverage for air links between the two countries, bringing it into line with EU regulations.
The signing of the agreement took place in Madrid on April 12, 2018 -prior authorization by the Council of Ministers-, on the occasion of the visit made to Spain by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and strongman of the Kingdom, Mohammed bin Salman, to present his Vision 2030 reform project, a planning instrument with an ambitious plan for economic diversification and modernization and the opening of the economy to the private sector. The text was submitted to the Cortes Generales in February 2019, came into force on August 20, 2022 and was published by the Official State Gazette at the end of last week.
The objective of this agreement, as reported at the time by the Government, is to “contribute to an increase in Spanish-Saudi air connectivity and, therefore, in the flow of travelers in both directions, thus strengthening mutual relations in the field of commercial air transport”.
Being an agreement of mixed competence between Spain and the European Union (EU), the text complies with all the regulatory precepts of the European Parliament and the Council on the negotiation and application of air transport services agreements between Member States and third countries and, therefore, includes in its articles the principles and standard clauses established and required by the EU. The European Commission gave its approval for Spain to sign this agreement.
