Freedoms of the air
The freedoms of the air, also called five freedoms of air transport, are a set of commercial aviation rights granting a country's
The first two freedoms concern the passage of
Overview
Freedoms of the air apply to commercial aviation.[2][3]: 145–146 The terms 'freedom' and 'right' are a shorthand way of referring to the type of international services permitted between two or more countries.[3]: 145–146 Even when such services are allowed by countries, airlines may still face restrictions to accessing them by the terms of treaties or for other reasons.[3]: 145–146 [4]: 19
Freedom | Description | Example |
---|---|---|
1st | The right to fly over a foreign country without landing.[5] | A flight from Canada to Mexico, flown by a Mexican airline, flying over the United States. |
2nd | The right to refuel or carry out maintenance in a foreign country without embarking or disembarking passengers or cargo.[5] | A flight from the United Kingdom to the United States, flown by a British airline, refueling at an Irish airport. |
3rd | The right to fly from one's own country to another country.[5] | A flight from New Zealand to Japan, flown by a New Zealand airline. |
4th | The right to fly from another country to one's own.[5] | A flight from Chile to Brazil, flown by a Brazilian airline. |
5th | The right to fly between two foreign countries on a flight originating or ending in one's own country.[5] | A flight from Melbourne, Australia to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with a stop in Denpasar, Indonesia, flown by a Malaysian airline. Passengers and cargo may travel between Melbourne and Denpasar, with no intention to continue on to Kuala Lumpur. |
6th | The right to fly from a foreign country to another while stopping in one's own country for non-technical reasons.[5] | A flight from New Zealand to Colombia, flown by an airline based in Chile, with a stop in Santiago, Chile. This can also be a flight by a Colombian airline flying under the 5th freedom, allowing codeshare by the Chilean airline which uses the 6th freedom.
|
modified 6th | The right to fly between two places in a foreign country while stopping in one's own country for non-technical reasons.[5] | A flight between two airports in the United States, flown by an airline based in Canada, with a stop in Canada. Such as a flight from Seattle (US) via Toronto (CA) to Boston (US), with a passenger ticketed from Seattle to Boston. |
7th | The right to fly between two foreign countries, where the flights do not touch one's own country.[5] | A flight between Spain and Sweden, flown by an Irish airline. |
8th | The right to fly inside a foreign country, having started from or continuing to one's own country.[5] | A flight operated by a South African airline between San Francisco and Cape Town, with a full stop in New York. Passengers and cargo may board or disembark the flight in New York, with no intention to board the flight to Cape Town. |
9th | The right to fly within a foreign country without continuing to one's own country.[5] | A flight flown between Paris and Lyon by a German airline. |
Transit rights
The first and second freedoms grant rights to pass through a country without carrying traffic that originates or terminates there and are known as 'transit rights'.[3]: 146 The Chicago Convention drew up a multilateral agreement in which the first two freedoms, known as the International Air Services Transit Agreement (IASTA) or "Two Freedoms Agreement", were open to all signatories. At the end of 2017, the treaty was accepted by 133 countries.[6]
A country granting transit rights may impose fees for the privilege. The reasonableness of such fees has caused controversy at times.
First freedom
The first freedom is the right to fly over a foreign country without landing.[7]: 31 It grants the privilege to fly over the territory of a treaty country without landing. Member states of the International Air Services Transit Agreement grant this freedom (as well as the second freedom) to other member states,[8] subject to the transiting aircraft using designated air routes.[9] As of the summer of 2007, 129 countries were parties to this treaty, including such large ones as the United States, India, and Australia. However, Brazil, Russia, Indonesia, and China never joined, with Canada leaving the treaty in 1988.[10] These large and strategically located non-IASTA-member states prefer to maintain tighter control over foreign airlines' overflight of their airspace and negotiate transit agreements with other countries on a case-by-case basis.[4]: 23 During the Cold War, the Soviet Union and China did not allow airlines to enter their airspace.[citation needed] There were flights from Europe to Japan that refueled in Alaska. Since the end of the Cold War, first freedom rights are almost completely universal.[3]: 151 Most countries require prior notification before an overflight and charge fees, which can sometimes be substantial.[11]
IASTA allows each member country to charge foreign airlines "reasonable" fees for using its airports (which is applicable, presumably, only to the second freedom) and "facilities";
Countries that are not signatories of the IASTA charge overflight fees as well; among them, Russia is known for charging high fees, especially on the transarctic routes (between North America and Asia) that cross Siberia.[12] In 2008, Russia temporarily denied Lufthansa Cargo permission to overfly its airspace with cargo ostensibly due to "delayed payments for its flyover rights".[15] European airlines pay Russia €300 million a year for flyover permissions.[15]
Due to the Russo-Ukrainian War, in 2022 the US, EU and other countries cancelled the third and fourth freedoms for Russian airlines, preventing them flying to these countries. In response Russia blocked all freedoms for western airlines, including the first freedom. Flights from the EU to Japan now fly over central Asia and China instead. Chinese and other airlines continue to fly over Russia.[16][17]
Second freedom
The second freedom allows technical stops without the embarking or disembarking of passengers or cargo.[7]: 31 It is the right to stop in one country solely for refueling or other maintenance on the way to another country.[3]: 146 Because of longer range of modern airliners, second freedom rights are comparatively rarely exercised by passenger carriers today, and then often as fifth freedom, allowing new passengers to embark at the stop. But second freedom rights are widely used by air cargo carriers, and are more or less universal between countries.[12]
The most famous example of the second freedom is
Traffic rights
In contrast to transit rights, 'traffic rights' allow commercial international services between, through and in some cases within the countries that are parties to air services agreements or other treaties.[3]: 146 While it was agreed that the third to fifth freedoms would be negotiated between states, the International Air Transport Agreement (or "Five Freedoms Agreement") was also opened for signatures, encompassing the first five freedoms.[18]: 108 The remaining four freedoms are made possible by some air services agreements but are not 'officially' recognized because they are not mentioned by the Chicago Convention.[18]: 108
Third and fourth freedoms
The third and fourth freedoms allow basic international service between two countries.[3]: 146 Even when reciprocal third and fourth freedom rights are granted, air services agreements (e.g. the Bermuda Agreements) may still restrict many aspects of the traffic, such as the capacity of aircraft, the frequency of flights, the airlines permitted to fly and the airports permitted to be served.[3]: 146–147 The third freedom is the right to carry passengers or cargo from one's own country to another.[7]: 31 The right to carry passengers or cargo from another country to one's own is the fourth freedom.[7]: 31 Third and fourth freedom rights are almost always granted simultaneously in bilateral agreements between countries.
Beyond rights
Beyond rights allow the carriage of traffic between (and sometimes within) countries that are foreign to the airlines that operate them.[3]: 146 Today, the most controversial of these are fifth freedom rights.[3]: 146 [18]: 108–109 [18]: 112 Less controversial but still restricted at times, though relatively more common are sixth freedom rights.[3]: 146 [19]: 94–95
Beyond rights also encompass international flights with a foreign intermediate stop where passengers may only embark and disembark at the intermediate point on the leg of the flight that serves the origin of an airline operating it.[3]: 146 It also includes 'stopover' traffic where passengers may embark or disembark at an intermediate stop as part of an itinerary between the endpoints of a multi-leg flight or connecting flights.[b][3]: 146 Some international flights stop at multiple points in a foreign country and passengers may sometimes make stopovers in a similar manner, but because the traffic being carried does not originate in the country where the flight takes place it is not cabotage but another form of beyond rights.[21]: 110
Fifth freedom
The fifth freedom allows an airline to carry revenue traffic between foreign countries as a part of services connecting the airline's own country.
Fifth freedom traffic rights are intended to enhance the economic viability of an airline's long haul routes, but tend to be viewed by local airlines and governments as potentially unfair competition.[23]: 33–34 The negotiations for fifth freedom traffic rights can be lengthy, because in practice the approval of at least three different nations is required.[c][20]: 131
Fifth freedom traffic rights were instrumental to the economic viability of
Fifth freedom traffic rights are sought by airlines wishing to take up unserved or underserved routes, or by airlines whose flights already make technical stops at a location as allowed by the second freedom.[7]: 32 Governments (e.g. Thailand) may sometimes encourage fifth freedom traffic as a way of promoting tourism, by increasing the number of seats available. In turn, though, there may be reactionary pressure to avoid liberalizing traffic rights too much in order to protect a flag carrier's commercial interests.[18]: 110 By the 1990s, fifth freedom traffic rights stirred controversy in Asia because of loss-making services by airlines in the countries hosting them.[24]: 16–19 Particularly in protest over US air carriers' service patterns in Asia, some nations have become less generous in granting fifth freedom traffic rights, while sixth freedom traffic has grown in importance for Asian airlines.[18]: 112
The Japan-United States bilateral air transport agreement of 1952 has been viewed as being particularly contentious because unlimited fifth freedom traffic rights have been granted to designated US air carriers serving destinations in the Asia Pacific region west of Japan. For example, in the early 1990s, the Japanese government's refusal to permit flights on the New York City—Osaka—Sydney route led to protests by the US government and the airlines that applied to serve that route. The Japanese government countered that only about 10% of the traffic on the Japan—Australia sector was third and fourth freedom traffic to and from the US, while the bilateral agreement specified that primary justification for unlimited fifth freedom traffic was to fill up aircraft carrying a majority of US-originated or US-destined traffic under those rights. Japan had held many unused fifth freedom traffic rights beyond the USA. However, these were seen as being less valuable than the fifth freedom traffic rights enjoyed by US air carriers via Japan, because of the higher operating costs of Japanese airlines and also geographical circumstances. Japan serves as a useful gateway to Asia for North American travelers. The US contended that Japan's favourable geographical location and its flag airlines' carriage of a sizeable volume of sixth freedom traffic via gateway cities in Japan helped to level the playing field. In 1995, the air transport agreement was updated by way of liberalizing Japanese carriers' access to US destinations, while placing selected restrictions on US air carriers.[24]: 19–24
Up until the 1980s, Air India's flights to
The fifth freedom has been discussed in 2017 in connection with the
Sixth freedom
The unofficial sixth freedom combines the
Sixth-freedom traffic has historically been widespread in Asia, where Southeast Asian carriers such as
While sixth freedom operations are rarely legally-restricted, they may be controversial: for example, Qantas has complained that Emirates, Singapore Airlines and other sixth-freedom carriers have unfair advantages in the market between Europe and Australia.[25]
Because the nature of air services agreements is essentially a
On 2 October 2007, the United Kingdom and Singapore signed an agreement that allowed unlimited sixth freedom rights from 30 March 2018, along with a full exchange of other freedoms of the air.
Cabotage
Modified sixth freedom (indirect cabotage)
The unofficial modified sixth freedom is the right to carry passengers or cargo between two points in one foreign country, while making a stop in the home country.
For example, (the unofficial modified sixth freedom): a Canadian carrier departs from a US airport, stops in its Canadian hub and departs/continues onward to a different US airport.
Seventh and ninth freedoms (standalone cabotage)
The unofficial seventh and ninth freedoms are variations of the fifth freedom. It is the right to carry passengers or cargo in foreign territories without any service to, from or via one's own country.[7]: 31 The seventh freedom is to provide international services between two foreign countries, and the ninth between points within a single foreign country.
The right to carry passengers or cargo within a foreign country without continuing service to or from one's own country,[28] is sometimes known as "stand-alone cabotage". It differs from the aviation definition of "true cabotage", in that it does not directly relate to one's own country.
Eighth freedom (consecutive cabotage)
The unofficial eighth freedom is the right to carry passengers or cargo between two or more points in one foreign country and is also known as cabotage.[7]: 31 It is extremely rare outside Europe. The main example is the
See also
- Air rights
- Bilateral agreement
- Air transport agreement
- Freedom of movement
- Flight permits
- Treaty on Open Skies for unarmed aerial surveillance flights
Notes
- ^ Some US island territories lie within the oceanic fee regions, while the en route fee is charged over the Bahamas and Bermuda, where it provides only high-altitude ATC service)
- ^ Even when fifth freedom rights are in place further restrictions on capacity and frequency may result in an airline only using the rights for stopover traffic or not being able to carry any traffic at all.[20]: 131
- ^ Because of this three types of fifth freedom traffic can be distinguished: 'intermediate point', where the right is granted from a third country to a second one between the third and the grantee; 'beyond-point', where the country giving the right allows traffic to continue to third countries; and 'behind-point' or 'anterior-point' where the grantor allows service between other destinations outside of the grantee's country of origin.[18]: 108 [20]: 131
References
- ISBN 9780850451634.
- ISBN 978-90-04-16438-3.
- ^ ISBN 0415350751. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
- ^ ISBN 90-411-05972. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
- ^ ISBN 92-9194-404-1.
- ^ International Air Services Transit Agreement - list of signatory states, which notified the U.S. Secretary of State of its acceptance of the treaty.
- ^ ISSN 1074-4320.
- ^ "International Air Services Transit Agreement (IASTA), Article 1, Section 1" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 January 2016.
- ^ a b c IASTA, Article I, Section 4
- ^ "International Air Services Transit Agreement - list of signatory states" (PDF). International Civil Aviation Organization. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2011. The document is not signed by, but includes Kazakhstan, which notified the US Secretary of States of its acceptance of the treaty in July 2007.[citation needed]
- ^ Mulrine, Anna (9 June 2008). Targeting the Enemy. U.S. News & World Report.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7546-7081-0.
- ^ "Overflight Fees". (FAA)
- ^ Although the FAA fee schedule quotes rates per 100 nautical miles, their "calculation" section makes it clear that the exact distance is used. See "§ 187.53 Calculation of overflight fees", Federal Register (PDF), vol. 81 #229, 2016, p. 85854. Note that all an aircraft's fees for a calendar month are waived when they total less than $400.
- ^ a b "Russia 'Blackmails' Lufthansa over Cargo Hubs". Spiegel International. 2 November 2007. Retrieved 5 June 2008.
- ^ Airlines Still Flying Over Russian Airspace
- ^ Russia Hikes Overflight Charges By 20% In Bid To Raise Cash
- ^ ISBN 9041105972. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
- ISBN 978-0203931035. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
- ^ ISBN 978-1136400735.
- ISBN 0792317955. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- ^ Rowell, David (12 November 2002). "Freedoms of the Air". The Travel Insider. Retrieved 25 November 2010.
- ^ ISBN 9024750032. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- ^ ISBN 9780788126215. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
- ^ a b "Taking the sixth". Flightglobal.com. 20 February 2006. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
- ^ "Air Canada bets big on sixth freedom traffic flows in 2016 with a new transborder push". CAPA - Centre for Aviation. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
- ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- ^ "ICAO FAQ: Freedoms of the Air". International Civil Aviation Organization. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
- ^ West Berlin#Air traffic
- ^ New Zealand Government: "Agreement allows unlimited UK flights" Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Minister Signs Air Agreement In Dublin". beehive.govt.nz. 28 May 1999. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
External links
- ICAO Freedoms of the Air
- Multilateral Agreement on the Liberalization of International Air Transportation (MALIAT)
- Basic Position of Japanese Side in Japan-Us Passenger Air Talks (1996)
- "International traffic rights" (PDF). Boeing. 2009.
- List of Parties (pdf) List of signatories to the transit agreement