Fundamentals of Air Law
📌 The discussion centers on the Chicago Convention of 1944, which serves as the primary international agreement governing civil aviation.
✈️ The Convention strictly applies only to civil aircraft; state, military, or government aircraft are exempt from its provisions.
🗺️ Horizontal boundaries of a nation's airspace follow the delineation of its land and territorial waters, as specified in Article 2 of the Chicago Convention, aligning with the UNCLOS for maritime boundaries.

Airspace Delimitation and Sovereignty
🚫 There is no clear international standard in the Chicago Convention defining the vertical limit of national airspace (i.e., where it ends and outer space begins).
✈️ In practice, the vertical limit is often determined by a nation's fighter jet capability to protect its airspace, not by reaching outer space.
🔒 Airspace is characterized by the principle of complete and exclusive sovereignty (Article 1), meaning it is inherently closed off, contrasting sharply with outer space, which follows a principle of non-appropriation.

Access and Cabotage
🤝 For scheduled foreign flights to enter another nation's airspace, a bilateral agreement is typically required, as stipulated in Article 6 of the Chicago Convention.
🛫 For non-scheduled foreign flights, specific authorization, such as safety or diplomatic clearance, is needed, often governed by national regulations (e.g., in Indonesia).
🚫 The principle of cabotage (Article 7) prohibits foreign airlines from carrying passengers or cargo between two points within the same country (e.g., Jakarta to Surabaya) to protect the national carrier's domestic operations.

Key Points & Insights
➡️ The Chicago Convention of 1944 is the foundational international legal instrument for civil aviation.
➡️ National sovereignty over airspace is horizontal (following land/sea borders) but vertically undefined by international treaty, relying on national defense capabilities in practice.
➡️ Bilateral agreements are crucial for allowing scheduled foreign air traffic, while the cabotage rule ensures national carriers dominate domestic routes.

📸 Video summarized with SummaryTube.com on Dec 06, 2025, 05:17 UTC