Travel Glossary · Air Travel
Fifth-Freedom Flight
Definition
Fifth-Freedom Flight: A fifth-freedom flight is operated by an airline between two countries other than its own, usually as one leg of a route to or from its home country.
The term comes from the “freedoms of the air,” a framework that grew out of the 1944 Chicago conference on international civil aviation. The fifth freedom lets an airline carry passengers between two foreign countries on a flight that starts or ends at home. These rights are negotiated between governments in air service agreements, so fifth-freedom routes are relatively rare and can come and go.
For travelers, they can be a pleasant shortcut to a different onboard product. Emirates, for example, sells seats between Milan and New York on flights that continue to Dubai, giving transatlantic passengers a Gulf carrier’s cabins without flying to the Gulf. Schedules change, so check current routes before planning around one.
Fifth-freedom flights can also add competition on a route, which may mean better fares or award availability. It pays to check every operator on a city pair, not only the obvious ones; our stopover programs guide covers other ways to use an airline’s network.
Example: Flying Emirates from New York JFK to Milan Malpensa, you travel only the first leg of a flight that continues on to Dubai.
Related terms
Go deeper
- Travel GuidesAirline Stopover Programs: Add a City to Your TripAirline stopover programs let you add Reykjavík, Lisbon, Istanbul, or Dubai to your trip, often at no extra airfare. See how they work and how to book them.
- Travel GuidesHow to Choose a Business-Class Seat on Long-Haul FlightsHow to choose a business-class seat: check the aircraft, understand 1-2-1 and suite layouts, pick the right seat for solo or couple travel, and avoid bad rows.
- DestinationsDubai, United Arab EmiratesA stopover city that outclasses most final destinations.
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