Sharjah Charter Programme: Article 5 Privilege, Cabotage and Indian Clearance

The assertion is only half right, and the half that is wrong is the operative half.

• Article 1 confirms that each State has complete and exclusive sovereignty over its airspace, so every entry is permission-based in principle.
• Article 5 gives aircraft not engaged in scheduled international air services the right to fly into, transit and make non-traffic stops, and even a privilege to take on and discharge traffic for remuneration - but expressly subject to the right of any State to impose such regulations, conditions or limitations as it considers desirable.
• Article 6 requires special permission for scheduled services; Article 7 lets a State reserve cabotage to its own carriers.

India uses the Article 5 reservation heavily: a foreign non-scheduled operator needs DGCA clearance for the programme, and the India-UAE Air Services Agreement governs who may carry traffic between the two countries and on what routes. 'Transit' is a red herring - a fuel stop does not change the commercial nature of the carriage, and transit rights under Article 5 relate to non-traffic stops, not to selling capacity.

So the manager is correct that there is no blanket ban on non-scheduled commercial flights, and wrong that this means no permission is needed. Without DGCA clearance and an ASA-based entitlement, nothing on this programme is dispatchable.

Leg 1 - Sharjah to Ahmedabad, 162 workers. This is third/fourth freedom commercial carriage between the UAE and India. It is lawful only if flown by a carrier designated under the India-UAE ASA within its agreed capacity, or as a non-scheduled charter with specific DGCA clearance. Skybridge has neither, so as planned it is not lawful.

Leg 2 - Ahmedabad-Mumbai-Ahmedabad selling local seats. This is pure cabotage: carriage for remuneration between two points in India. Article 7 permits India to reserve that to its own carriers, and India has done so. No charter clearance, no ASA and no configuration of the flight can make this lawful; the leg must be deleted from the programme.

Leg 3 - Mumbai to Colombo. A UAE carrier carrying traffic between India and Sri Lanka is exercising fifth-freedom/beyond rights. These exist only if specifically granted in the ASA or through a separate authorisation from both States. The Article 5 privilege does not create them. As planned, unlawful.

The pattern to remember: freedoms 3 and 4 may be permitted by the bilateral plus operating clearance; cabotage is a hard stop; fifth-freedom traffic needs an explicit grant.

Before dispatch, the operator must hold:

• DGCA charter/operating clearance for the specific programme, consistent with the ASA entitlement;
• a valid UAE certificate of airworthiness and maintenance status acceptable to DGCA, with the aircraft documents on board as required by the Aircraft Rules 1937 and CARs;
• crew licences validated or accepted for the operation, with medicals valid;
• insurance cover acceptable to DGCA and valid for Indian territory and the intended operations;
• route/slot/ATS flight plan, and customs, immigration and security arrangements at each point.

If the documents are not aboard, the commander must not depart. Carrying passengers under a clearance the operator does not hold exposes the commander personally: the aircraft can be detained under the Aircraft Act 1934, the operator's Indian clearances can be suspended, penalties can be imposed, and the crew's licences can be acted against. An insurer faced with an unpermitted commercial flight can also decline the claim.

The practical answer for the commander is to refuse, record the refusal in writing to the OCC with the missing document identified, and ask for lawful clearance or a lawful replacement. Pressure from a commercial manager is not a defence, and 'everyone does it' is not a defence.