Generally, with the exception of air transport within Europe, flag carriers are effectively protected by a regulatory process driven by a network of bilateral agreements based on reciprocity of operations. This practice, sustained throughout the past sixty-eight years by the Member States of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), justifies a provision in the Convention on International Civil Aviation that scheduled air transport services are prohibited unless permitted by the grantor State, and has upended the meaning and purpose of aviation. In many countries, this practice precludes a more rational assessment of air services, one which should transcend narrow sectoral interests of an air carrier and provides the optimum overall benefits from tourism, trade and investment for the economy, protection of consumer interests and enhancement of competition.
Journal of World Trade