After months of intense negotiations over both governments' respective airspace, Singapore and Malaysia have finally come to an agreement.
Government officials from both sides announced over the weekend that they have now reached an amicable agreement to finally put an end to the airspace dispute that had been causing added tension between both nations since last year.
In December of last year, Singapore began to implement a new Instrument Landing System, which would help planes land on the airport safely even without good visibility.
The precision runway approach system was introduced in the country's Seletar Airport near the Malaysian border. Malaysia immediately asked Singapore to halt its implementation of the new system as it apparently affected ongoing constructions on its side of the fence.
When Singapore refused to budge, Malaysia issued a permanent "restricted area" on the Malaysian side close to the Singaporean airport. The restricted did not allow any civil aircraft from flying over, effectively making flights out of the airport very difficult.
This had caused a heated exchange between officials from both countries in the following months. Since the beginning of the year, officials from both sides held meetings to discuss their options, while agreeing to temporarily put their planned countermeasures on hold.
Malaysia Airlines Airbus A330-323E
Over the weekend, Singapore's Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan and Malaysia's Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced that both sides have now come to an agreement.
Singapore has decided to fully withdraw its new landing system from its Seletar Airport, while Malaysia has agreed to lift its flight restrictions over its side. According to both ministers, the arrangement was made in the spirit of promoting bilateral cooperation between both countries.
The ministers also revealed that both countries' civil aviation authorities will immediately be implementing the terms of the new agreement.
With the dispute now resolved, Malaysia Airlines flights can now resume its operations at Seletar Airport. In the months following the dispute, the airline had halted its flights to the airport due to the tensions between the neighboring countries.
Apart from the airspace dispute, both countries have also decided to update their airspace policies, particularly the one that was enacted in 1974. The pact currently gives Singapore rights to control air traffic over southern Malaysia.
The dispute over the airspace isn't the first time Singapore and Malaysia had locked horns. Last year, the two countries had fought over maritime territory between their borders.
A few months later, both sides had agreed to halt all expansion efforts for their respective ports, which had apparently encroached on both their territories in certain areas. The countries also agreed to refrain from conducting commercial activities that were too close to each other's borders.
