Fifth Freedom operations around the world

Fifth freedom services involve the sale and carriage of passengers and or cargo by an international airline between two countries, neither of which is the home country of that airline.

Their exchange by governments was a contentious issue at the Chicago conference in 1944. They have subsequently been exchanged by governments on a limited basis in bilateral air services arrangements and more recently have been a key feature of "open skies" agreements.

Perhaps their value has diminished, however, with technology improvement as more fuel efficient airliners have become capable of flying longer and longer ranges thereby eliminating the need to make intermediate stops.

On 27 January 2023 Matt Graham of Australian Frequent Flyer published a very interesting list of the remaining fifth freedom operations around the world.