With the start of Brexit a few weeks away we look into an often unthought of implication on the way we travel in Europe. Cabotage.
What is Cabotage ?
The term ‘cabotage’ originates from the French word caboter, meaning to travel by the coast and was a word adopted by the marine industry.
Cabotage in its original was an agreement to have the right to deliver passengers or cargo between ports in a country, by a vessel from a different country. Merchants started selling their goods at shipping ports on the coast of foreign countries. This way of conducting business effected the domestic market and merchants, so laws were created in order to avoid this.
The same legislation was introduced in the early 1930s with cabotage meaning the right to operate passenger flights within the domestic borders of a country, by an aircraft registered outside that country. To this day the majority of countries worldwide do not permit cabotage.
How does cabotage effect private jet travel?
A private jet hire offers high levels of flexibility in destinations and timings – Passengers flying cacross a country, and between several states, regions or countries, regardless of an aircrafts origin or registererd base.
As with many private flights one-way or multi-destination, an private jet can end up in many different places, ready for its next mission. The private jet operator will therefore look to sell a flight starting from their current position, in order to improve efficiency, response speed and cost.
The private jet operator cannot operate a charter for a new flight on a domestic route from their new position – unless they can claim cabotage rights, under one of the exemptions or exceptions outlined below.
Cabotage within Europe and the European Union
If you have ever taken a flight from Barcelona to Madrid, or from Nice to Paris with a carrier out of these countries, you may be confused. That’s because flights within the European Union (EU) are a global exception to cabotage restrictions.
As part of the free trade deal, the EU extended the cabotage rights to all of its Member States, which are considered a single state in the case of cabotage.
So aircraft registered in those countries can carry passengers freely within other countries that are in the European Union.
Non-EU countries can also benefit from free movement if they are members of the European Common Aviation Area This in turn opens up the aviation market to additional countries, Norway and Iceland as an example. They have a multilateral agreement which means they must abide by EU aviation laws and establish a ‘cooperative economic framework’.
What happens to the UK after Brexit ?
London is one of the busiest regions for private aviation in Europe, changes to cabotage rules in the event of Brexit are a major consideration for the whole industry.
The UK currently inside the EU, aircraft operators can operate flights freely elsewhere in Europe, and operators from other EU countries can freely operate domestic routes within the UK.
At the moment the terms of the UK’s exit still remain to be negotiated. But when the UK leaves the EU, it would either need to negotiate a multilateral agreement, requiring it to accept EU aviation laws and to establish a ‘cooperative economic framework’ or go through the lengthy process of negotiating its own deal
When cabotage is exempt
On a route that would normally be disallowed due to cabotage, there is one exception to the rule. An operator can perform a domestic flight within a state or country, based upon the following conditions.
1) The number and passenger list remains the same during the entire route.
2) The passengers board the connecting flight on the same day.
3) The passengers do not leave the airport during the connection.
How to make sure your flight complies with cabotage regulations
Cabotage can be complictaed and confusing area, it is important to ensure that your flight route is permitted for your chosen aircraft.
Admiral Jet have a global network of aircraft operators worldwide.
Our Team of aviation experts, based in both Europe, US and the Middle East have extensive knowledge and experience in arranging flights that comply with global cabotage rules.
FAQ:
What is Cabotage ?
The term ‘cabotage’ originates from the French word caboter, meaning to travel by the coast and was a word adopted by the marine industry. Cabotage in its original was an agreement to have the right to deliver passengers or cargo between ports in a country, by a vessel from a different country. Merchants started selling their goods at shipping ports on the coast of foreign countries. This way of conducting business effected the domestic market and merchants, so laws were created in order to avoid this. The same legislation was introduced in the early 1930s with cabotage meaning the right to operate passenger flights within the domestic borders of a country, by an aircraft registered outside that country. To this day the majority of countries worldwide do not permit cabotage.
How does cabotage effect private jet travel?
A private jet hire offers high levels of flexibility in destinations and timings – Passengers flying cacross a country, and between several states, regions or countries, regardless of an aircrafts origin or registererd base. As with many private flights one-way or multi-destination, an private jet can end up in many different places, ready for its next mission. The private jet operator will therefore look to sell a flight starting from their current position, in order to improve efficiency, response speed and cost. The private jet operator cannot operate a charter for a new flight on a domestic route from their new position – unless they can claim cabotage rights, under one of the exemptions or exceptions outlined below.
What happens to the UK after Brexit ?
London is one of the busiest regions for private aviation in Europe, changes to cabotage rules in the event of Brexit are a major consideration for the whole industry. The UK currently inside the EU, aircraft operators can operate flights freely elsewhere in Europe, and operators from other EU countries can freely operate domestic routes within the UK. At the moment the terms of the UK’s exit still remain to be negotiated. But when the UK leaves the EU, it would either need to negotiate a multilateral agreement, requiring it to accept EU aviation laws and to establish a ‘cooperative economic framework’ or go through the lengthy process of negotiating its own deal
When cabotage is exempt?
On a route that would normally be disallowed due to cabotage, there is one exception to the rule. An operator can perform a domestic flight within a state or country, based upon the following conditions. 1) The number and passenger list remains the same during the entire route. 2) The passengers board the connecting flight on the same day. 3) The passengers do not leave the airport during the connection.