Air freedoms are a set of commercial aviation rights that grant airlines of one country the privilege of entering and landing in the airspace of another country. They were formulated following disagreements over the extent of the liberalization of carriage by air in the 1944 Convention on International Civil Aviation, known as the Chicago Convention. The U.S. had demanded that a standardized set of separate aviation duties be negotiated between states, but most other countries were concerned that the size of U.S. airlines would dominate air travel if there were no strict rules. Air freedoms are the fundamental elements of the international network of commercial aviation routes. The use of the terms “freedom” and “law” authorizes the operation of international air services only within the framework of multilateral and bilateral treaties (air transport agreements) that allow it. The eighth unofficial freedom is the right to transport passengers or goods between two or more points in a foreign country and is also known as cabotage. [6]:31 Outside Europe, this is extremely rare. The main example is the European Union, where such rights exist between all its Member States. Other examples include the Domestic Aviation Market (SAM), which was established in 1996 between Australia and New Zealand; the 2001 Protocol to the Multilateral Agreement on the Liberalization of International Air Transport (MALIAT) between Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore; United Airlines` Island Hopper route from Guam to Honolulu can carry passengers to the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands, although the countries concerned are closely linked to the United States. As a general rule, these rights have only been granted when the domestic air transport network is very underdeveloped.

A notable example was Pan Am`s authority to fly between Frankfurt and West Berlin from the 1950s to the 1980s, although political circumstances and not the state of the domestic air network dictated this – only the airlines of the Allied powers France, Britain and the United States had the right to conduct air traffic between West Germany and the legally separated and separate territory of West Berlin until 1990. [25] In 2005, the United Kingdom and New Zealand concluded an agreement on the granting of unlimited cabotage rights. [26] Given the distance between the two countries, the agreement can be seen as an expression of a political principle rather than an expectation that these rights will be exercised in the near future. Similarly, New Zealand exchanged freedom rights with Ireland in 1999. [27] Unlike transit rights, “traffic rights” allow international commercial services between, through and, in some cases, within countries that are parties to air transport agreements or other treaties. [2]:146 Although it was agreed that the third to fifth freedoms should be negotiated between states, the Agreement on International Air Transport (or “Five Freedoms Agreement”) was also opened for signature, which includes the first five freedoms. [14]:108 The remaining four freedoms are made possible by certain air transport agreements, but are not “officially” recognized because they are not mentioned in the Chicago Convention. [14]:108 The first two freedoms concern the passage of commercial aircraft through foreign airspace and airports, while the other freedoms concern the carriage of passengers, mail and cargo at the international level. The first to fifth freedom is officially listed by international treaties, in particular the Chicago Convention. Several other freedoms have been added and, although most are not officially recognized under universally applicable international treaties, they have been endorsed by a number of countries. Freedoms with lower numbers are relatively universal, while freedoms are weaker and more controversial. Liberal open skies agreements are often the least restrictive form of air transport agreements and can include many, if not all, freedoms.

They are relatively rare, but the recent individual aviation markets that have emerged in the European Union (European Common Aviation Area) and between Australia and New Zealand are examples. The Agreement on the Transit of International Air Services refers to a multilateral agreement drafted in the Chicago Convention, i.e. the Convention on Civil Aviation, by the members of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The agreement introduced for the first time the principle of automatic right of way and emergency landing. The agreement is known as the two-freedom agreement. Article I of the Convention provides that each State Party shall grant to other States Parties the following freedoms of carriage by air in scheduled international air services: the third and fourth freedoms allow basic international services between two countries. [2]:146 Even if reciprocal rights of the third and fourth freedoms are granted, air transport agreements (e.B. the Bermuda Agreements) can still restrict many aspects of transport, such as.B.

aircraft capacity, frequency of flights, airlines that are allowed to fly, and airports that can be served. [2]:146-147 The third freedom is the right to transport passengers or goods from one`s own country to another. [6]:31 The right to transport passengers or goods from another country to one`s own is the fourth freedom. [6]:31 Third and fourth freedom rights are almost always granted simultaneously in bilateral agreements between countries. Air cargo applies to commercial aviation. [1] [2]:145-146 The terms “freedom” and “justice” are an abbreviated form of reference to the type of international services permitted between two or more countries. [2]145-146 Although these services are authorized by countries, airlines may continue to face restrictions on access to these services due to contracts or other reasons. [2]145-146[3]:19 The Convention on the Transit of International Air Services refers to a multilateral convention developed by the members of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in the Chicago Convention, namely.dem Convention on Civil Aviation. The agreement established for the first time the principle of the right of automatic transit and emergency landing. The agreement is called two freedom agreements.

Article 1 of the Convention provides that each State Party shall grant to the other States Parties the following aviation freedoms with respect to scheduled air services: the former is the right to fly over a foreign country without landing. [6]:31 It grants the privilege of flying over the territory of a treaty country without landing. The Member States of the Agreement on International Air Transport grant this freedom (as well as the second freedom) to other Member States[7] provided that transit aircraft use certain routes. Since air transport agreements are essentially a mercantilist negotiation aimed at a fair exchange of traffic rights, the outcome of a bilateral agreement may not be completely reciprocal, but reflects the relative size and geographical location of two markets, especially in the case of a large country negotiating with a much smaller country. [19]:129 In exchange for a smaller state granting fifth-freedom rights to a larger country, the smaller country may be able to maintain sixth-freedom traffic to subsequent destinations from the larger country. [19]:129-130 The first freedom is the right to fly over a foreign country without landing. [6]:31 It grants the privilege of flying over the territory of a treaty country without landing. The Member States of the Transit Convention on International Air Services grant this freedom (as well as the second freedom) to other Member States[7], provided that the transit aircraft uses certain air routes.

[8] As of the summer of 2007, 129 countries were parties to the treaty, including countries as large as the United States, India and Australia. However, Brazil, Russia, Indonesia and China never joined, as Canada withdrew from the treaty in 1988. [9] These large, strategically located non-IASTA Member States prefer to tighten controls on the overflight of foreign airlines over their airspace and negotiate transit agreements with other countries on a case-by-case basis. [3]:23 During the Cold War, the Soviet Union and China did not allow airlines to enter their airspace. There have been flights from Europe to Japan that have refueled in Alaska. Since the end of the Cold War, the rights of the first freedom have been almost entirely universal. [2]:151 Most countries require advance notice before an overflight and charge a fee, which can sometimes be substantial. [10] On 2 October 2007, the United Kingdom and Singapore signed an agreement allowing unlimited rights to the seventh freedom and the full exchange of other aviation freedoms from 30 March 2018. The first and second freedoms confer the right to cross a country without having to travel, which begins or ends there and is called “transit rights”.

[2]:146 The Chicago Convention created a multilateral agreement in which the first two freedoms, known as the International Air Services Transit Agreement (IASTA) or “Two-Freedom Agreement,” were open to all signatories. By mid-2007, the treaty had been accepted by 129 countries. [5] The 1952 bilateral air transport agreement between Japan and the United States was considered particularly controversial because some U.S. airlines flying to destinations in the Asia-Pacific region west of Japan were granted unlimited fifth-freedom traffic rights. In the early 1990s, for example, the Japanese government`s refusal to allow flights on the New York-Osaka-Sydney route led to protests from the U.S. government and airlines that had requested the route. .