Canada, UAE call it quits over airline spat

Canada and the UAE have put a row over landing rights for the Gulf state’s national airlines behind them, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said Tuesday.

The two countries have held a series of talks in the wake of a “rough patch” sparked by Canada's refusal to offer more landing slots to Emirates and Etihad Airways.

"Last year, there were some profound disagreements between Canada and the United Arab Emirates," Baird told Canadian media in a conference call after meeting with his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.

“I'm pleased to say I've had two or three bilateral but substantive discussions about Canada-UAE relations with my counterpart Sheikh Abdullah.”

The talks have been “good, positive, warm,” he said.

Relations between the oil-rich UAE and Ottawa deteriorated rapidly following the aviation row, after the Gulf state retaliated with the closure of Camp Mirage, a secret military base located outside Dubai and used to supply Canadian troops in Afghanistan.


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