Kuwait freight forwarders are hopefulthat government open skies initiativesintroduced in December will attract morecarriers from the Far East and Africa toKuwait International Airport, accordingto Iqbal Qureshi, CEO of Bahman AviationShipping and Logistics.

"Currently most of the 43 carrierswho serve Kuwait are Middle Eastern orEuropean, with only Singapore Airlinescoming in from the Far East," he says. "We are hoping for Asian carriers to balance out European dominance."

Qureshi says that among the carriershe has made overtures to includeMalaysian Airlines. "We would also likesome African operators. South AfricanAirways and Sudan Airways used tooperate here, but now they have allstopped," he says.