Open-skies deal agreed

Carrier restrictions limiting the number of flights between Australia and the UK have been lifted as a part of a new deal between the two countries.

The agreement, which has been brought into immediate effect, removes the previous limits of 28 flights per week for Qantas as well as the limits on code-sharing arrangements.

Other major services which will be able to take advantage of this new ruling are British Airways, which currently flies 14 services each week and Virgin Atlantic which operates seven.

Australian transport minister, Warren Truss, said: "This new agreement is an important step in meeting both countries' commitment to a fully-open aviation environment.

"Australian and UK carriers can now freely determine the number of services operated between our two countries."

The new agreement also means that previous restrictions on Australian airlines flying onto points beyond Europe have been scrapped, although the ban on flights to the UK going via China or the US remains.

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