I spent nearly half an hour in search of an image that would best illustrate the concept of an open sky policy, in a way that expresses the yearning of the average citizen of this planet to go places for a while, if only it didn’t entail getting so deep in debt they won’t see the sky again until next summer. I think this one does the job in a strange and immediately understood way.
Now the story – and remember, I could have just picked up a picture of an airplane either on the tarmac or in the air, or a bunch of planes in all kinds of weird positions – and you would have given it a glance and moved on. This image, on the other hand, is worth watching for a while.
OK, now the story.
The Ministry of Tourism’s initiative from 2006, which has led to thorough discussions lasting a number of years (6), has led Israel and the European Union to initial on Monday morning the Open Skies Agreement.
Israeli Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov, who supported the initiative and was active in promoting it, congratulated the signing of the agreement, saying it is “an essential move that will jumpstart tourism to Israel by hundreds of thousands, and will bring about a decrease in fares for the Israeli consumer as well.”
Misezhnikov pointed out that Israel’s joining the European club will bring new and varied opportunity for new players in the airline industry as well, which will promote competition. Nevertheless, he cautioned, “the state must find a way to ensure support for the Israeli airline companies within the new agreement.”
Open skies is an international policy concept that calls for the liberalization of the rules and regulations of the international aviation industry—especially commercial aviation—in order to create a free-market environment for the airline industry.