Freedoms of the air

Freedoms of the air are directly connected Chicago Convention and the “The International Air Transport Agreement” signed also in Chicago 1944. Although they are called freedoms, they are not necessarily available to all airlines.

Members of those conventions exchange the first and second freedom. Other freedoms are bilaterally or multilaterally agreed between states in agreements defining number of flights, by which airline, to which cities and some time the fares and the number of seats that could be sold.

First Freedom: passing over.

The right to pass over the territory of another state without landing.

Second Freedom: non-commercial landing

The right to land in the territory of another state for non-commercial reasons (such as refueling) without boarding of deplaning passengers.

Commercial freedoms established by the International Air Transport Agreement – Chicago 1944 and laid down in bilateral or multilateral agreements:

Third Freedom: deplaning traffic from the country of nationality

The right to set down passengers, mail and cargo taken from the country of aircraft registration in another state. This means and airline can take traffic from its own country and deplane it in another country.

Forth Freedom: Taking traffic from another country to the home country

The right to take on passengers, mail and cargo from another country and land it in the country of aircraft nationality. This means an airline can take traffic from another country and deplane it in its home country.

Fifth Freedom: Sometimes called “beyond rights”

It is the right to take on passengers, mail and cargo destined for any other state and right to set down this traffic in any other state other than the state of aircraft nationality. This means that an airline can take passengers from one country and deplane them in another country but only as part of a continuous operation from its home country.

Freedoms defined by legal literature:

Sixth Freedom: Traffic between two countries through the country of nationality

The right to provide transport service between two countries other than the country in which the aircraft is registered across the territory of that country.

Seventh Freedom: International operation completely outside the country of nationality.

The right to take on or set down traffic originating in a state and destined for another  state which are not the country of registration.

Eights Freedom: Cabotage.

The right to move traffic which originated and terminates within one country different than the aircraft’s country of registration. Almost no country permits Cabotage.

Additional unofficial freedom of the air:

Ninth Freedom: Cabotage no attached to an international sector.

Pure domestic operation within the territory of another state. The difference between the ninth and eighth freedom is that the eights freedom is tied in to an international leg.