What Are Fifth Freedom Flights?

Fifth freedom flights are like the hidden gems of the aviation world!
5th Freedom flights are one of the best ways to fly different airlines and cabins on rather unusual routes. Often a 5th Freedom flight is the reason why airlines sometimes use an international business or first class even on short routes. For example, Singapore Airlines flies an A380 from Frankfurt to New York or Emirates from Milan to New York. Similar examples can be found worldwide with a wide variety of airlines.
They are flights operated by an airline between two countries, but with a stopover in a third country where passengers can board or disembark. This means that you can book a ticket on a fifth freedom flight and enjoy a mini vacation in the stopover city without needing an additional visa or booking another flight.
For example, imagine booking a flight from New York to Singapore with a stopover in Tokyo. You can e.g. fly from New York to Tokyo.   Fifth freedom flights offer travelers more flexibility and the opportunity to discover new places along their journey. Plus, they often come with competitive fares and excellent service.

5th Freedom flights are an exciting story for both the airline and the passenger. For airlines, it is possible in this way to serve two destinations with one flight and thus, if necessary, to open up markets that would otherwise be too small, too unprofitable or not even possible due to too great a distance. The KLM flight from Amsterdam via Singapore to Denpasar is one such example. Since some of the passengers naturally disembark in Singapore, tickets are also sold for the Singapore – Denpasar leg. Thus, in the best case, the plane is always fully loaded. Another example is the British Airways flight from London to Sydney via Singapore. This would not be possible as a direct flight, or only with specially converted aircraft, as the distance between London and Sydney is simply too great. Only the possibility of stopping in Singapore and picking up passengers there makes the flight possible and profitable for BA.

In order for aircraft to be able to fly between different states at all, multilateral or bilateral regulations in air traffic, the so-called freedoms of the air, are required as a prerequisite. The basis for the nine freedoms of the air and other standards of aviation law is the Chicago Convention of 1944, which established the central principle that each state has full sovereignty over its airspace. In this regard, scheduled airline traffic may fly into or over the territory of another state only with special permission. According to the Chicago Convention, non-scheduled traffic is in principle allowed to fly into and through foreign airspace and even to take on/offload passengers or cargo, but in practice states can impose conditions and regulations to prevent this.

To find and book fifth freedom flights, you can start by searching for flights between the departure and arrival cities of your choice. Once you identify an airline that operates a fifth freedom route on your preferred travel dates, you can proceed with booking. Some popular airlines known for operating fifth freedom flights include Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, and many more.

We ofen found good deals on flights with Emirates from Bangkok to Hong Kong (First Class deal).
Or with Singapore Airlines from Frankfurt to New York in their A 380.
Another cool fith freedem route is with Emirates from Milan to New York.
Some like the KLM flight from Singapore to Denpasar, Bali. Here you can grab often tickets for Business Class for less than US$ 400 (RT)

If you’re interested in exploring fifth freedom flights please check our handpicked flight deals.