A new trade agreement on air services between Europe and Canada will benefit both sides of the Atlantic, according to recruiters.

The deal, announced last week by the European Commission, will mean that airlines based in the EU will be able to operate flights directly to Canada from any airport in Europe and carriers will be able to establish new code-sharing agreements.

Commenting on the agreement, which comes into force in the first half of next year, Jason Blayne, director at travel recruiter T&T Training Solutions, said the move would boost Europe’s travel recruitment industry.

Blayne told Recruiter: “It’s got to open up new jobs where there are airports in Europe that don’t fly directly to Canada. That has got to pick up revenue.”

But it’s not just Europe that will witness a boost to jobs. According to Mark Peapell, vice president at multi-sector Canadian recruiter Peapell Associates, Canadian cities will also gain from the deal.

“It should boost business. We have a lot of Europeans visiting from Germany and from Iceland as well. You get more people coming in who are more exposed to the location. Here in Nova Scotia, travel and tourism will see a boost. We are billed as a travel destination. Right now, if you want to come here, it’s a flight from London to Toronto and then Toronto down here, we have one flight a day. The service sector, hotels, restaurants will also see the benefit.”