Ottawa's plan to allow more international competition in the airline industry could mean lower fares and more choice for Canadian travellers.

On Monday, Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon announced his "Blue Sky" plan to give domestic carriers an opportunity to compete in international markets on "a reasonably level playing field."

"Canada's new international air policy will encourage the development of new markets, new services and greater competition. For travellers, this means more choices in terms of destinations, flights and routes," Cannon said in a news release.

Open skies agreements eliminate rules that dictate how many air carriers are allowed in each market, what destinations they are allowed to serve, and how many times they are allowed to fly. 

In announcing the plan, Ottawa has signalled that it wants the price, quality, frequency and range of air services to be determined by market forces.

Canadian Airports Council president Jim Facette, who represents 45 members encompassing more than 150 airports, said his group supports the move.

"Today Canada joins a growing list of nations that have adopted liberalization, concluding that an approach that eliminates the restrictions on air service between Canada and foreign nations is the best for Canadian travellers and shippers and our trade- and tourism-dependent economy,"  Facette said in a news release. 

"With a legacy of restrictive agreements in place with some of our most important markets for tourism and trade, the government now must aggressively pursue open skies agreements to increase choice and competition in international air service."

The Conservative government has said it wants to start by negotiating with other countries that would allow their airlines to fly in and out of Canada as often and as much as they want.

Canadian airlines would get the same access to those foreign markets.

Canada already has liberalized air agreements with the United States and the United Kingdom.

After the first liberalization of Canada's air service agreement with the U.S. in 1995, air traffic between Canada and the U.S. nearly doubled, says the Canadian Airports Council.

The government's previous approach was to gradually reduce restrictions in air agreements. The new plan calls for Ottawa to negotiate greatly liberalized air service agreements with more nations of the world. 

The plan announced Monday will not allow foreign airlines to carry domestic traffic between points in Canada.

With files from the Canadian Press