Fifth-freedom flights are international “tag flights” that neither start nor end in the home country of the airline operating the flight.
For example, UAE-based Emirates will shortly resume flights from Melbourne to Dubai via Singapore. The Melbourne-Singapore sector of this route is a fifth-freedom flight as neither the origin nor destination is in the UAE.
Fifth-freedom flights can truly be a great way to travel for several reasons. Not only are fares typically well-priced, but you’ll often travel in greater comfort as well!
Why do fifth-freedom flights exist?
The 1944 Chicago Convention defined nine “freedoms of the air”. These freedoms set out airlines’ rights to overfly, land in and pick up passengers in other countries.
In general, a foreign airline cannot operate a domestic flight within another country. This would require ninth-freedom traffic rights – something that is not generally granted. (This is why, for example, Qatar Airways is not allowed to sell tickets to domestic passengers on its daily Melbourne-Adelaide service which runs as a continuation of a flight from Doha.)
The fifth of these “freedoms of the air” states that airlines may fly between two foreign airports as a “tag flight” added on to a service that originates or ends in the airline’s own country. Crucially, fifth-freedom traffic rights allow airlines to carry passengers and cargo solely between the two foreign countries.
Most countries do afford fifth-freedom traffic rights to international airlines. So, for example, Qatar Airways is allowed to sell tickets between Adelaide and Auckland on its Doha-Adelaide-Auckland service.
In an aviation industry full of regulation, many airlines use fifth-freedom rights to fly routes they would not otherwise be able to. For example, Qantas flies daily from Sydney to London via Singapore.
Until Qantas takes delivery of its first Airbus A350-1000, the airline doesn’t have any aircraft capable of flying Sydney-London (with a full payload) without stopping. So, this flight must currently stop along the way. The Sydney-Singapore-London route may not be commercially viable for Qantas if it was not allowed to carry passengers purely between Singapore and London.
Airlines do not always choose to sell tickets to passengers on their international tag flights. For example, the German airline Condor operates a flight from Frankfurt to Zanzibar, Tanzania via Mombasa, Kenya. It does not pick up any new passengers in Mombasa, meaning the passengers flying on the Mombasa-Zanzibar leg of this flight all boarded in Frankfurt.
Fifth-freedom flights can be great value
Fares on fifth-freedom flights are typically low, as airlines find it more difficult to fill seats on the onward tag leg. This also means that award availability on fifth-freedom flights is often very good. For example, there are often plenty of reward seats available on Emirates’ service from Sydney to Christchurch (which will resume in late March 2023).
Often, you’ll also get to enjoy a better product. Many fifth-freedom flights are an extension of a long-haul flight, so they often use wide-body international aircraft which have been configured with comfort in mind.
Using the Sydney-Christchurch example, why fly a narrow-body Boeing 737 between Sydney and Christchurch when Emirates flies an Airbus A380 with lie-flat Business beds and First class Suites?
Fifth-freedom routes also provide a great opportunity to fly with airlines from all over the world that you may not otherwise have a chance to try. Even if you never visit South America, for example, you can still fly with Chile’s LATAM Airlines between Sydney and Auckland.
Fifth-freedom routes from Australia
There are many airlines operating fifth-freedom flights out of Australia. As of 2023, most of these flights are to Asia or New Zealand.
Here’s a complete list of current fifth-freedom routes to and from Australia:
- AirAsia X: Sydney-Auckland
- Batik Air Malaysia (formerly Malindo Air): Brisbane-Denpasar, Melbourne-Denpasar, Perth-Denpasar & Sydney-Denpasar
- British Airways: Sydney-Singapore
- China Airlines: Brisbane-Auckland
- Emirates: Melbourne-Singapore & Sydney-Christchurch (both resume March 2023)
- LATAM Airlines: Sydney-Auckland
- Nauru Airlines: Brisbane-Honiara
- Qatar Airways: Adelaide-Auckland
The following fifth-freedom flights to/from Australia had been offered prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but have not returned:
- Air New Zealand: Sydney-Rarotonga, Sydney-Norfolk Island & Brisbane-Norfolk Island
- Emirates: Brisbane-Singapore
- Malindo Air: Adelaide-Denpasar
- Singapore Airlines: Melbourne-Wellington
Other fifth-freedom routes
For more, see our complete list of fifth-freedom routes!
