To pursue or not to pursue? An examination of air services liberalisation between Central Asia and China

• Main Author: Chiou, Zi Lin
• Other Authors: Chou Meng-Hsuan
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2024
• Subjects: Social Sciences
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/175658
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

With COVID-19 travel restrictions easing up, countries have sought to revitalise their aviation industries to boost their nation’s economy. Among these initiatives include the gradual liberalisation of Air Service Agreements (ASAs) to deregulate flights and increase passenger flows. However, reducing emissions from aviation remains a pressing issue, particularly as these emissions are difficult to abate. Today, Central Asia remains a region with a highly regulated aviation industry and relatively lower air connectivity, while simultaneously being a region that stands to gain enormously from increased liberalisation due to its land-locked nature. Liberalising air services with China, a major economy, is likely to bring tremendous economic benefits to Central Asia. Simultaneously, however, these increased traffic flows will undoubtedly increase emissions. This paper quantifies the economic benefits and environmental costs of liberalising air services and explores other factors that will play into the decision on whether to liberalise. Altogether, this paper hopes to address certain key issues that may arise when the Central Asian nations are looking to increase their air connectivity through liberalising their ASAs.