Title: Legality of the European Union flight ban towards Indonesian airlines

Authors: Atip Latipulhayat; Agil Ariananto

Addresses: Faculty of Law, Padjadjaran University, Dipati Ukur No. 35, Bandung, Indonesia. ' Faculty of Law, Padjadjaran University, Dipati Ukur No. 35, Bandung, Indonesia

Abstract: One of the most fundamental principles in the field of air law is the principle of State sovereignty over its airspace. Under the principle, States are responsible for the safety oversight within their territories. However, this principle received specific limitations in certain areas. The States are committed to observe the international regulations governing air navigation, as a consequence, the rights of governments to regulate air navigation above their territories are not absolute, but subject to international rules. The European Commission took the initiative in 2004 to reorganise the European airspace by launching the Single European Sky (SES) Programme. To improve aviation safety in Europe, the European Commission decided to ban airlines found to be unsafe from operating in European airspace. By reason that Indonesian airlines did not meet aviation safety standards, EU imposed a flight ban to all Indonesian airlines. This paper argues that EU flight ban is a unilateral act that violates the principle and objectives of the Chicago Convention 1944.

Keywords: air law; Indonesia; Chicago Convention; international conventions; International Civil Aviation Organization; ICAO; UN; United Nations; Single European Sky; SES; EC; European Commission; airspace design; airspace management; airspace regulation; European Union; EU; European Common Aviation Area; ECAA; flight bans; state sovereignty; safety oversight; international regulations; air navigation; government rights; state regulation; international rules; safety standards; legality; unilateral acts; legal violations; Indonesian airlines; public law; public policy.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPLAP.2012.046071

International Journal of Public Law and Policy, 2012 Vol.2 No.2, pp.149 - 161

Published online: 20 Sep 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article