Who pays for them, who runs them — Page 28, Lesson 43

Let’s start with the question that opened this whole chapter of history: how does an airline of one country get permission to fly into and through the territory of another? That was the central problem facing the world in 1944. And there were other worries too — legal and economic conflicts that peace-time flying across national borders would bring. For example, how do you maintain the air navigation facilities that already existed, many of them sitting in sparsely populated areas? Who pays for them, who runs them? But despite all that, international commercial aviation was seen as so important, so much of a priority, that the United States government began exploratory discussions with its allied, friendly nations in the early months of 1944. And as a result, invitations went out to 55 states to meet in Chicago in November of that year. That brings us to section 2.3, the Meeting at Chicago. For five weeks, delegates from 52 nations — note, 52 attended, even though 55 were invited — sat down and wrestled with the problems of international civil aviation. The outcome was the Convention on International Civil Aviation. And I want you to hear its stated purpose, because it’s the philosophical foundation of everything that follows: it was designed to foster the future development of international civil aviation, to help create and preserve friendship and understanding among the peoples of the world, so as to prevent its abuse becoming a threat to the general security, thus promoting co-operation between peoples. That’s the exact wording, and it matters — the whole legal framework hangs on that idea of preventing abuse and promoting cooperation. The 52 states agreed on policy and arrangements so that civil aviation could be developed in a safe and orderly manner, and so that international air transport services could be established on the basis of equality of opportunity and economically sound operation. Two key phrases there: equality of opportunity, and economically sound operation. Those are the twin principles the whole system is built on. And to administer all of this, a permanent body was created — the International Civil Aviation Organization, known worldwide by the acronym ICAO, pronounced eye-kay-oh. Now, section 2.4, the Chicago Convention itself. This is the legal instrument, and it consists of ninety-six articles — and an article here is a legislative item of agreement, a numbered clause of the treaty. The Convention accepts a foundational principle: every State has complete and exclusive sovereignty over the airspace above its territory. I want you to sit with that for a moment, because it’s the single most important legal idea in all of air law. The airspace above a country belongs to that country, completely and exclusively. No one else has any right to it. And from that principle flows a direct consequence, which the Convention states plainly: no scheduled international air service may operate over or into the territory of a Contracting State without that State’s previous consent. So a scheduled airline cannot simply fly across or land in another country — it needs that country’s explicit permission first. That’s the answer to the question we opened with. The Convention also established the privileges and restrictions of all Contracting States, and it provided for the adoption of International Standards and Recommended Practices — and I’ll come back to that phrase, because it’s a specific technical term. These standards and practices were adopted for three purposes. First, regulating air navigation. Second, the installation of navigation facilities by Contracting States — so each state is responsible for putting in the navigation aids on its own territory. And third, the facilitation of air transport by the reduction of customs and immigration formalities — making it easier for aircraft and passengers to move across borders by cutting down on red tape. So let me tie it together. The Chicago Convention gives every state complete and exclusive sovereignty over its airspace. From that, no scheduled international service can enter without consent. And to make the system work safely and smoothly, ICAO was set up to administer standards and recommended practices covering navigation, facilities, and facilitation. That’s the skeleton of international air law, and everything else in your studies hangs off these bones.