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SINGAPORE (Reuters) --Governments across Asia are set to speed up moves to liberalize air travel to reap the potential spin-offs to their economies, said Singapore's Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
Lee said China, Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore were leading the way in freeing up air travel, and other countries were likely to follow.
"The pace of change in Asia will increase," Lee told the International Air Transport Association/Asian Aerospace Aviation Summit in Singapore.
"A road map has been drawn up for a limited open skies framework within ASEAN (the Association of South East Asian Nations) by 2015, and to lift the current restriction on the number of flights that airlines can operate between capital cities by 2008," Lee said.
"As has happened in the U.S. and Europe, the winners will be those countries in Asia whose governments liberally exchange traffic rights and expose their national airlines to market competition."
Last year's deadly SARS virus outbreak across Asia focused attention on the economic impact of air travel in the region, with many countries seeing a sharp downturn in tourism, trade and investment flows.
Lee also said the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, which runs Changi Airport, was studying the feasibility of building a dedicated terminal for low cost air carriers.
Changi is fighting to preserve its status as Asia's fourth-largest air hub as regional competition heats up, while the stock price of flag carrier Singapore Airlines has stalled as budget airlines chip at its dominance in Southeast Asia.
Singapore's aviation industry, including related businesses such as supply and logistics players, account for about nine percent of the country's US$90 billion gross domestic product.
Singapore Airlines is facing increased competition from low-cost carriers, including Jakarta-based Lion Air, Malaysia's AirAsia and Singapore-based ValuAir. Singapore Airlines plans its own budget service, Tiger Airways.
The city-state's status as an aviation center is also threatened by new long-range aircraft that allow airlines to bypass Singapore altogether, to fast growing regional hubs such as Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur and even Dubai in the Middle East.
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