Chicago Convention

Why in news

• A direct flight between Srinagar and Sharjah operated by GoFirst Airline was denied permission to enter Pakistan.
• With this refusal Pakistan has violated freedom of air under Chicago Convention

About the Chicago Convention:

• The Convention on International Civil Aviation, also known as the Chicago Convention, established the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a specialized agency of the UN charged with coordinating international air travel.
• ICAO is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.
• The Convention establishes rules of airspace, aircraft registration and safety, security, and sustainability, and details the rights of the signatories in relation to air travel.
• The Convention also contains provisions pertaining to taxation.
• It was signed in 1944 in Chicago.

Members:

• As of March 2019, the Chicago Convention had 193 state parties, which includes all member states of the United Nations except Liechtenstein

Main articles:

• Article 1:
  • Every state has complete and exclusive sovereignty over airspace above its territory.
• Article 3:
  • Every other state must refrain from resorting to the use of weapons against civil aircraft in flight.
• Article 5:
  • The aircraft of states, other than scheduled international air services, have the right to make flights across state's territories and to make stops without obtaining prior permission.
  • However, the state may require the aircraft to make a landing.
• Article 6: (Scheduled air services)
  • No scheduled international air service may be operated over or into the territory of a contracting State, except with the special permission or other authorization of that State.
• Article 16:
  • The authorities of each state shall have the right to search the aircraft of other states on landing or departure, without unreasonable delay.

PRELIMS QUESTION

Chicago Convention, sometimes seen in news, is associated with:

(a) Human rights

(b) Civil Aviation

(c) Cultural and natural heritage

(d) Labour

Answer