The UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has signed an air services MoU and initialed an Air Services Agreement (ASA) with the Government of Vietnam.

The two delegations agreed that any number of designated airlines of both parties will have the right to perform scheduled air services. The UAE delegation designated Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways, Air Arabia, RAK Airways and FlyDubai as UAE national airlines under the agreement. The Vietnamese  delegation designated Vietnam Airline as its designated airline.

The MoU allows full flexibility on the routes, capacity, number of frequencies and types of aircraft, in any type of service (passenger or cargo). The MoU also includes the exercise of fifth freedom traffic rights. In addition, both parties agreed to allow unrestricted non-scheduled operations between the two countries.

“The UAE is considered one of the biggest investors in Vietnam with the total capital of on-going projects amounting to $3 billion which imposes the need to open skies to facilitate the trade between the two countries,” stated Laila Ali Bin Hareb, executive director of Strategy & International Affairs of the GCAA.-TradeArabia News Service