This week, Civil Aeronautics accepted the request of Emirates airline to operate in Colombia as a foreign operator of international regular public transport air services, on international routes to and from Colombia. With this, it becomes the first airline that connects Bogotá with Dubai, with a stopover in Miami.
According to Aerocivil, this route will begin operating in June with seven weekly frequencies, with Boeing 777-200LR and 777-300ER aircraft, which have the capacity to transport up to 354 passengers.
On platforms such as Despegar and Kayak, flights to reach the capital of the United Arab Emirates can only be made with stopovers in countries such as Panama or the United States, since no airline that operates in the domestic market has that route defined.
Some executives in the sector such as Felipe Gutiérrez, general manager of Clic, assured that the arrival of Emirates speaks of the importance that the local market is taking on. “We welcome the fact that there is interest in the market like Emirates, because they see Colombia as a destination worth bringing people to meet. “We are the airline that can support that foreign traffic that comes to Colombia for the first time to go beyond the big cities,” he highlighted.
Furthermore, he added that “Every effort or initiative that seeks to generate greater connectivity is positive for the market, For us I don’t see it as a threat, simply because they are completely different business models.”
But other market players opposed Emirates’ request, alleging that the principles of equity and reciprocity would not be respected and even warned that jobs could be lost.
The study that the airline presented to Aerocivil stated that Colombia represents a significant demand and increasing air travel to and from the United Arab Emirates and the Arab world, and was ultimately granted permission to operate.
“EIn the field of international relations, Colombia opens paths towards new scenarios of collaboration and understanding. Today, we are pleased to establish an air connection with the vibrant city of Dubai, that marks not only a link between destinations, but also symbolizes our nation’s firm commitment to global integration,” said the general director of Civil Aeronautics, Sergio Paris.
The fifth freedom of the air
According to Juan Felipe Reyes, director of the aviation law practice at Parra Rodríguez Abogados, ““The freedoms of the air are the right granted bilaterally or multilaterally between states to exploit the air market, which allows them to transport passengers, mail and cargo.”
Reyes explained that the fifth freedom is the “privilege” that a State, in this case Colombia, granted to a foreign airline from another territory (Emirates) to carry and leave passengers, mail and cargo destined for a third State (different from the United Arab Emirates and Colombia), so the airline was able to enter through the United States, without having to make new transactions between the countries.
Andrés Palacios Lleras, senior professor of the Faculty of Jurisprudence at the Universidad del Rosario, highlighted that when an airline makes a stopover in a country other than that of origin and destination, it is preciselybecause it enjoys one of these freedoms, since the fifth freedom allows the company to take a territory to make stopovers without having to make agreements with the countries of origin or destination of the flights.
“Established airlines do not like that a large company like Emirates lands in Colombia and exercises to disembark or pick up passengers and cargo, since it becomes another competitor. And for consumers it is excellent that this happens, because it expands the offer of both services and destinations.”Palacios emphasized.
Juliana Téllez Wilches, founding member of Cada, He stressed that some countries may be “reluctant” to grant these rights due to concerns about competition with their own national airlines or the impact on local air traffic.. Téllez said that fifth freedom agreements are “carefully” negotiated and are subject to specific restrictions and conditions agreed to by the countries involved.