3 The five freedoms

FreedomRight FirstTo fly over another state without landing SecondTo land for technical reasons (fuel, maintenance) without taking on traffic ThirdTo set down passengers and cargo taken on in the airline's own state FourthTo take on passengers and cargo destined for the airline's own state FifthTo carry traffic between two states neither of which is the airline's own, on a route that begins or ends at home The first two are granted by the International Air Services Transit Agreement. The rest are negotiated bilaterally — which is why air service agreements exist.