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The freedoms of the air, also called five freedoms of air transport, are a set of commercial aviation rights granting a country's
airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...
s the privilege to enter and land in another country's
airspace Airspace is the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a country above its territory, including its territorial waters or, more generally, any specific three-dimensional portion of the atmosphere. It is not the same as outer space which is t ...
. They were formulated as a result of disagreements over the extent of aviation liberalisation in the
Convention on International Civil Aviation The Convention on International Civil Aviation, also known as the Chicago Convention, established the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a specialized agency of the United Nations charged with coordinating international air trav ...
of 1944, known as the Chicago Convention. The
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
had called for a standardized set of separate air rights to be negotiated between states, but most other countries were concerned that the size of the U.S. airlines would dominate air travel if there were not strict rules. The freedoms of the air are the fundamental building blocks of the international commercial aviation route network. The use of the terms "freedom" and "right" confers entitlement to operate international air services only within the scope of the multilateral and bilateral treaties ( air services agreements) that allow them. The first two freedoms concern the passage of
commercial aircraft An airliner is a type of airplane for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. The modern and most common variant of the airliner is a long, tube shaped, and jet powered aircraft. The largest o ...
through foreign airspace and
airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...
s, while the other freedoms are about carrying people, mail and cargo internationally. The first through fifth freedoms are officially enumerated by international treaties, especially the Chicago Convention. Several other freedoms have been added, and although most are not officially recognised under broadly applicable international treaties, they have been agreed to by a number of countries. The lower-numbered freedoms are relatively universal while the higher-numbered ones are rarer and more controversial. Liberal open skies agreements often represent the least restrictive form of air services agreements and may include many if not all freedoms. They are relatively rare, but examples include the recent single aviation markets established in the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
( European Common Aviation Area), and between
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
and
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
.


Overview

Freedoms of the air apply to
commercial aviation Commercial aviation is the part of civil aviation that involves operating aircraft for remuneration or hire, as opposed to private aviation. Definition Commercial aviation is not a rigorously defined category. All commercial air transport and ae ...
. The terms 'freedom' and 'right' are a shorthand way of referring to the type of international services permitted between two or more countries. 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.


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'. 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. 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. 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, subject to the transiting aircraft using designated air routes. 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. 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. During the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
, the Soviet Union and China did not allow airlines to enter their airspace. There were flights from Europe to Japan that refueled in
Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
. Since the end of the Cold War, first freedom rights are almost completely universal. Most countries require prior notification before an overflight and charge fees, which can sometimes be substantial. 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";IASTA, Article I, Section 4 according to IATA, such fees should not be higher than those charged to domestic airlines engaged in similar international services. Such fees indeed are commonly charged merely for the privilege of the overflight of a country's national territory, when no airport usage is involved. (Overflights might still be using services of a country's air traffic control centers). For example, the
Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...
of the U.S., an IASTA signatory, charges overflight fees based on the
great circle distance The great-circle distance, orthodromic distance, or spherical distance is the distance between two points on a sphere, measured along the great-circle arc between them. This arc is the shortest path between the two points on the surface of the ...
between an aircraft's points of entry into and exit from U.S.-controlled airspace. This transit is then divided into overland (referred to as ''en route'') and oceanic components; the latter include flights over international waters where air traffic is controlled by the U.S., including sections of Atlantic and Arctic Oceans and much of the northern Pacific Ocean. (FAA) Since 2019 these have been charged at for ''en route'' components, and for the oceanic components. Although the FAA fee schedule quotes rates per 100 nautical miles, their "calculation" section makes it clear that the exact distance is used. See . Note that all an aircraft's fees for a calendar month are waived when they total less than $400. 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. In 2008,
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
temporarily denied Lufthansa Cargo permission to overfly its airspace with cargo ostensibly due to "delayed payments for its flyover rights". In 2008, European airlines were paying Russia €300 million a year for flyover permissions. Due to the
Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...
, 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.


Second freedom

The second freedom allows technical stops without the embarking or disembarking of passengers or cargo. It is the right to stop in one country solely for refueling or other maintenance on the way to another country. 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. The most famous example of the second freedom is
Shannon Airport Shannon Airport () is an international airport located in County Clare in Ireland. It is adjacent to the Shannon Estuary and lies halfway between Ennis and Limerick. With almost 2 million passengers in 2023, the airport is the third busiest ...
(
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
), which was used as a stopping point for most transatlantic flights until the 1960s, since Shannon Airport was the closest European airport to the United States.
Anchorage Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolita ...
was similarly used for flights between Western Europe and East Asia, bypassing
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
airspace, closed until the end of the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
. Anchorage was still used by some Chinese airlines for flights to the U.S. and
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
until the 2000s. Flights between Europe and South Africa often stopped at Ilha do Sal (Sal Island) in Cabo Verde, off the coast of
Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...
, due to many African nations refusing to allow South African flights to overfly their territory during the Apartheid regime. Gander, Newfoundland was also a frequent stopping point for airlines from the USSR and the
Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...
on the way to the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, and South America.


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. 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. 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.


Third and fourth freedoms

The third and fourth freedoms allow basic international service between two countries. Even when reciprocal third and fourth freedom rights are granted, air services agreements (e.g. the
Bermuda Agreement The Bermuda Agreement (formally Agreement between the government of the United Kingdom and the government of the United States relating to Air Services between their respective Territories), reached in 1946 by American and British negotiators i ...
s) 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. The third freedom is the right to carry passengers or cargo from one's own country to another. The right to carry passengers or cargo from another country to one's own is the fourth freedom. 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. Today, the most controversial of these are fifth freedom rights. Less controversial but still restricted at times, though relatively more common are sixth freedom rights. 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. 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. 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.


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. It is the right to carry passengers from one's own country to a second country, and from that country onward to a third country (and so on). An example of a fifth freedom traffic right is an
Emirates Emirates may refer to: * United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective ...
flight in 2004 from Dubai to
Brisbane, Australia Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
and onward to
Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
, New Zealand, where tickets can be sold on any sector. 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. The negotiations for fifth freedom traffic rights can be lengthy, because in practice the approval of at least three different nations is required. Fifth freedom traffic rights were instrumental to the economic viability of long-haul flight until the early 1980s, when advances in technology and increased passenger volume enabled the operation of more
non-stop flight A non-stop flight is a flight by an aircraft with no intermediate stops, as opposed to a direct flight, which is any flight with no change in flight number, but which may include one or more stops. History During the early age of aviation ...
s. The excess capacity on multi-sector routes could be filled by picking up and dropping off passengers along the way. It was not uncommon for carriers to schedule stops in one or more foreign countries on the way to a flight's final destination. Fifth freedom flights were common between Europe and Africa, South America and the
Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...
. An example of a multi-sector flight in the mid-1980s was an
Alitalia Alitalia - Società Aerea Italiana S.p.A., operating as Alitalia (), was an Italian airline which was once the flag carrier and largest airline of Italy. The company had its head office in Fiumicino, in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital. ...
service from Rome to Tokyo via Athens, Delhi, Bangkok and Hong Kong. Fifth freedom flights remained highly common in East Asia during the 2000s, particularly on routes serving
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
,
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
and
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
. Between the latter two destinations, in 2004, service was provided by at least four airlines whose home base was not in either Hong Kong or Bangkok. The
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
-Bangkok route has also constituted an important fifth freedom market. In the late 1990s, half of the seats available between the two cities were offered by airlines holding fifth freedom traffic rights. Other major markets served by fifth freedom flights can be found in Europe, South America, the Caribbean and the
Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, who in 1642 wa ...
. 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. Governments (e.g.
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
) may sometimes encourage fifth freedom traffic as a way of promoting
tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
, 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 A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by that government for international operations. Histo ...
's commercial interests. By the 1990s, fifth freedom traffic rights stirred controversy in Asia because of loss-making services by airlines in the countries hosting them. 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. 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. Up until the 1980s, Air India's flights to New York JFK from India were all operated under fifth freedom rights. From its 1962 initiation of Boeing 707 service to Idlewild (renamed JFK in 1964), flights had intermediate stops at one Middle East airport (Kuwait, Cairo, or Beirut), then two or three European airports, the last of which was always London's Heathrow, with trans-Atlantic service operating between Heathrow and JFK. This service continued well into the Boeing 747 era. Currently, Air India's North American flights are nonstop Boeing 777 service to India, with one exception, that being a revival of fifth freedom flights operating Boeing 787 service on the Newark—Heathrow—Ahmedabad route. However, Air India does not currently operate that route. The fifth freedom has been discussed in 2017 in connection with the Saint Helena Airport. Flights (by a South African airline) serving it have to refuel at Walvis Bay Airport; but they are not allowed to board more passengers coming from connecting flights, which means that passengers from Johannesburg must do a detour over Cape Town with fairly little connecting time, with risk of missing the once-weekly flight.


Sixth freedom

The unofficial sixth freedom combines the
third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...
and fourth freedoms and is the right to carry passengers or cargo from a second country to a third country by stopping in one's own country. It can also be characterized as a form of the fifth freedom with an intermediate stop in the operating airline's home market. This characterization is often invoked as
protectionist Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...
policy as the traffic, like fifth freedom traffic, is secondary in nature to third and fourth freedom traffic. Consequently, some nations seek to regulate sixth freedom traffic as though it were fifth freedom traffic. Sixth-freedom traffic has historically been widespread in Asia, where Southeast Asian carriers such as
Thai Airways Thai Airways International plc () is the flag carrier airline of Thailand. Formed in 1961 as a joint venture between Scandinavian Airlines, SAS and Thai Airways Company, the airline has its corporate headquarters in Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, Chat ...
and
Singapore Airlines Singapore Airlines (abbreviation: SIA or SQ) is the flag carrier of Singapore with its Airline hub, hub located at Changi Airport. Considered to be one of the world's best carriers, the airline is ranked as a 5-star airline as well as ranked ...
carried traffic on the Kangaroo Route between Europe and Australia, and Japanese carriers carried traffic between Southeast Asia and the Americas. More recently, carriers in the Persian Gulf region have developed intercontinental sixth-freedom hubs, and
Copa Airlines Compañía Panameña de Aviación, S.A., branded as Copa Airlines, is the flag carrier of Panama. It is headquartered in Panama City, Panama, with its main hub at Tocumen International Airport. Copa is a subsidiary of Copa Holdings and a member o ...
has developed a sixth-freedom hub in Panama to connect many cities in North and South America. Another example is
Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada, by size and passengers carried. Air Canada is headquartered in the borough of Saint-Laurent in the city of Montreal. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and cha ...
, which has pursued a strategy of carrying passengers between the US and points in Europe and Asia through its Canadian hubs. While sixth freedom operations are rarely legally-restricted, they may be controversial: for example,
Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...
has complained that
Emirates Emirates may refer to: * United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective ...
,
Singapore Airlines Singapore Airlines (abbreviation: SIA or SQ) is the flag carrier of Singapore with its Airline hub, hub located at Changi Airport. Considered to be one of the world's best carriers, the airline is ranked as a 5-star airline as well as ranked ...
and other sixth-freedom carriers have unfair advantages in the market between Europe and Australia. Because the nature of air services agreements is essentially a
mercantilist Mercantilism is a nationalist economic policy that is designed to maximize the exports and minimize the imports of an economy. It seeks to maximize the accumulation of resources within the country and use those resources for one-sided trade. ...
negotiation that strives for an equitable exchange of traffic rights, the outcome of a bilateral agreement may not be fully reciprocal but rather a reflection of the relative size and geographic position of two markets, especially in the case of a large country negotiating with a much smaller one. In exchange for a smaller state granting fifth freedom rights to a larger country, the smaller country may be able to gain sixth freedom traffic to onward destinations from the larger country. 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

Cabotage is the
transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...
of goods or passengers between two points in the same country by a vessel or an aircraft registered in another country. Originally a
shipping Freight transport, also referred to as freight forwarding, is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...
term, cabotage now covers
aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...
,
railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to roa ...
and
road transport Road transport or road transportation is a type of transport using roads. Transport on roads can be roughly grouped into the transportation of goods and transportation of people. In many countries licensing requirements and safety regulations e ...
. It is "trade or navigation in coastal waters, or, the exclusive right of a country to operate the air traffic within its territory".


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. 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, 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''. It is extremely rare outside Europe. The main example is the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, where such rights exist between all its member states. Other examples include the Single Aviation Market (SAM) established between
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
and New Zealand in 1996; the 2001 Protocol to the Multilateral Agreement on the Liberalization of International Air Transportation (MALIAT) between
Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...
,
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
, New Zealand and
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
;
United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...
' " Island Hopper" route, from Guam to Honolulu, able to transport passengers within the
Federated States of Micronesia The Federated States of Micronesia (, abbreviated FSM), or simply Micronesia, is an island country in Micronesia, a region of Oceania. The federation encompasses the majority of the Caroline Islands (excluding Palau) and consists of four Admin ...
and the
Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 c ...
, although the countries involved are closely associated with the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. Such rights have usually been granted only where the domestic air network is very underdeveloped. One instance was
Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and more commonly known as Pan Am, was an airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States for ...
's authority to fly between Frankfurt and
West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...
from the 1950s to the 1980s, although political circumstances and not the state of the domestic air network dictated this – only airlines of the Allied Powers of France, the United Kingdom and the United States had the right to carry air traffic between
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
and the legally separate and distinct territory of
West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...
until 1990. In 2005, the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and New Zealand concluded an agreement granting unlimited cabotage rights. Given the distance between the two countries, the agreement can be seen as reflecting a political principle rather than an expectation that these rights will be taken up in the near future. Similarly, New Zealand had exchanged eighth-freedom rights with Ireland in 1999.


See also

*
Air rights In real estate, air rights are the property interest in the "space" above the Earth's surface. Generally speaking, owning or renting land or a building includes the right to use and build in the space above the land without interference by oth ...
*
Bilateral agreement Bilateralism is the conduct of political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which is activity by a single state or jointly by multiple states, respectively. When ...
* Air transport agreement *
Freedom of movement Freedom of movement, mobility rights, or the right to travel is a human rights concept encompassing the right of individuals to travel from place to place within the territory of a country,Jérémiee Gilbert, ''Nomadic Peoples and Human Rights'' ...
* Flight permits * Treaty on Open Skies for unarmed aerial surveillance flights


Notes


References


External links


ICAO Freedoms of the Air

Multilateral Agreement on the Liberalization of International Air Transportation (MALIAT)


* * ttps://www.icao.int/secretariat/legal/List%20of%20Parties/Transit_EN.pdf List of Parties (pdf)List of signatories to the transit agreement {{DEFAULTSORT:Freedoms Of The Air Aviation agreements 2007 in aviation