A world-first block-to-block air transportation agreement between ASEAN and the European Union promises passengers an increased number of flights and more destinations for travel between the two regions.

The member states of ASEAN and of the EU signed the Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement (ASEAN-EU CATA) at the 28^th ASEAN Transport Ministers’ Meeting in Bali on Monday, according to a press release issued on the same day.

The ASEAN-EU CATA was long in the making; its signature follows negotiations that commenced in 2016 and were concluded at the Extraordinary ASEAN-EU Senior Transport Officials Meeting on June 2, 2021, apart from translation work and assessments described as “legal scrubbing”.