By Silindzelwe Nxumalo
ESWATINI Civil Aviation Authority (ESWACAA) and Mozambique Civil Aviation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) countries to start operating the routes between the two countries.
This was during the Mozambique’s Ministry of Transport and Communication Mateus Magala’s visit to the kingdom of Eswatini at the Happy Valley Hotel on Wednesday. ESWACAA Director General Andile Mthethwa said this MoU paved the way for the two contracting states to initiate negotiating an Air Service Agreement (ASA) that would allow for the different degrees of freedom of the air. She mentioned that these were a set of commercial aviation rights granting a country’s airlines the privilege to enter another country’s airspace.
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Mthethwa stated that an air service agreement was an international treaty between two or more nations that governs the rights of airlines from each country to fly in the other countries’ airspace and land at their airports. “These agreements are typically negotiated by the governments of each country,” she said.
Mozambique Civil Aviation’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Joao Martins de Abreu said moving forward both countries had agreed to maintain what the ASA recommends.
He stated that on their side they were ready they were just waiting for Eswatini Air to speed up the process.
“Through these signatures or MoU we are agreeing that we will work together as a team,” he said.
The two civil aviation authorities in the two countries have signed a Memorandum of Understanding outlining the conditions of operations paving the way for the signing of the Air Service Agreement.
The ASA will allow the free movement of international commercial air services within the member states. Both countries must expedite the signing of the ASA.
