Yesterday saw Malta become fully integrated in the Schengen zone, which in essence means abolishing passport control at all entry and exit points when travelling between European Union member states.

This in itself is an important development and which should reduce some of the stress and hassle involved in travelling to and from other EU member states. However, there is soon to be another development which could revolutionise air travel, particularly in relation to trans-Atlantic travel.

This will come in the form of the ‘open skies’ agreement between the EU and the US. The benefits are many and the deal means an end to the limits on which airlines can fly between the US and EU. The interesting part for Malta lies here – not only will Air Malta, for example, be able to fly to the US directly from our island (if there is of course a market), but any European airline will be able to fly to the US from anywhere in the EU - not just from its home nation.

The move is expected to lead to a large rise in the number of carriers on the routes with Irish low-cost airline Ryanair has already declared an interest in flying to North America. One can only speculate, but Ryanair might decide to offer a trans-Atlantic service to Europe using Malta as a stop-over to other destinations, similarly to how Emirates uses Cyprus as a staging post for its Malta operations.

This could follow a recent trend of using smaller European airports. The scarcity of take off and landing slots and their relevant fees at major European hubs such as Paris Charles de Gaulle and London’s Heathrow could see airlines relocating or entering code-sharing agreements. Malta International Airport pre-empted the move by increasing all its passenger facilities in relation to security and gates, but more than that, it has increased its infrastructure and is continuing to do so in order to accommodate more aircraft on the apron, taxiway and holding area. In addition, the MIA will be able to service wide-bodies aircraft such as the A380 super jumbo, the Boeing 747 and the 777.

Analysts believe that increased competition in the field will bring down prices, but this of course depends on ever increasing price demands for aviation fuel.

The deal is not cast in stone. EU Transport Commissioner Jaques Barrot has pledged to improve the deal which is skewed in favour of US carriers. US airlines can buy a stake of up to 49 per cent in their European rivals, yet European carriers can only buy a 25 per cent stake in US airlines. If the deal is not sweetened to at least offer the same deal to European carriers, Mr Barrot said he would roll back some of the open skies agreements by 2010.

One cannot say for sure whether our national airline would want to offer a direct service to Malta, mostly due to the demand and load factor. Equally, one cannot know whether home based US carriers are willing to service Malta. But there is definitely an opportunity for carriers to enter agreements where this country could be used as a stop-over. As mentioned, Ryanair is one such carrier that springs to mind, while Easyjet is another. It is all speculation at this point, but one wonders whether the Irish carrier might use the deal as a bargaining chip in its bid to set up a base in Malta – a deal that has gone sour due to common ground not being found in Ryanair’s demands for lower handling fees.