When Jumbo Jets Share the Sky: Civil Aviation in the European Union and the United States of America

Abstract

The global scope of civil aviation has increased at an exponential rate since the signature of the Chicago Convention in 1944. However, when it comes to recognizing zones of regional integration, such as the European Common Aviation Area (ECAA), international aviation law lags in progress. This article examines the new challenges in civil aviation arising for the European Union and Europe's relations with third countries, as seen through the lens of the EU-US Open Skies Agreement (OSA).The unification of European airspace and specifically the creation of the Schengen Area are clashing with traditional definitions of international and domestic flights. This incoherence between international air law and the European Union's novel creation is leading to inequalities in Europe's external air transport agreements. Open Skies liberalized civil aviation between the world's two largest aviation markets, but inequalities still remain, notably regarding the granting of air rights to passenger carriers and investment opportunities for European nationals in American air carriers. This article oversimplifies the technicalities of aviation law, and is destined for those with little or no knowledge of the subject.