Emirates has reached a commercial agreement that will allow Travelport-connected travel agencies to avoid the airline’s surcharge on bookings via global distribution systems.

The charges are due to come into effect today.

Furthermore, the companies announced a new long-term agreement to enable the distribution of Emirates NDC content via Travelport’s next-generation platform, Travelport+.

There is also an extension to a longstanding IT agreement.

Adnan Kazim, chief commercial officer at Emirates, said: “We are pleased to have reached key agreements with Travelport that take our decades-long partnership to the next level.

“Supported by the recent launch of Travelport+, these new deals will further cement Emirates as the airline of choice for travellers that want highly personalised offers and access to the world’s best destinations.

“Emirates and Travelport will continue to work jointly on future travel retail solutions that will offer our travel community partners even better and more bespoke services.”

As of today, Travelport’s global network of travel agency partners will automatically be upgraded to a dedicated channel that provides access to un-surcharged content.