Increased flight capacity has emerged as a key bargaining chip in the Australian Government’s talks with United Arab Emirates (UAE) for a new Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries.
The announcement comes as Flight Centre Corporate reveals a 38 per cent increase in business travel into the UAE from Australia in the six months to date (01 September 2023 – 23 February 2024), compared to the same period in 2022-23.
Flight Centre Global Corporate COO Melissa Elf said the agreement would see significant investment into Australia’s critical minerals and clean energy technology, but there was a missing piece of the puzzle.
“There is an incredible opportunity in this new agreement for Australian businesses should it come to fruition, but there is a critical component that needs to be addressed to ensure the agreement can be successfully leveraged, and that is sufficient travel capacity,” Elf said.
“Data from our flagship corporate brands, FCM Travel and Corporate…