As a sort of addendum to my post requesting the treaties governing the Compact of Free Association States and the United States’ treaties on commercial passenger service. I’d like to request that the devs also look into the Pacific Islands Air Services Agreement (PIASA). Countries that have singed/ratified PIASA are; Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, the Cook Islands, Niue, and Kiribati*.
Stage 1 – Initial Phase
The designated airlines of one Party may operate scheduled services to and from the territory of another Party (3rd and 4th freedom), and between the territories of Parties via the territory of their own Party (6th freedom).
Where a Party already has the rights for its designated airline(s) to operate scheduled services to and from the territory of another Party (I) via the territory of a third Party and/or (2) beyond the territory of the other Party to the territory of a third Party or of another State, with the right to pick up and put down local traffic traveling between the territory of the other Party and that of the third Party or other State, the designated airlines of the first Party may continue to exercise those rights (5th freedom).
5th freedom rights may also be exercised for scheduled services between the territory of Parties to this Agreement (1) by the designated airline of a Party that does not have an airline operating on international routes at the time that this Agreement comes into force; and (2) for scheduled dedicated cargo services operated by the designated airlines of any Party to this Agreement.
The designated airlines of any Party may exercise such 5th freedom rights, where they do not already exist, for the carriage of passengers whose journey originates in the territory of a State that is not a Party to this Agreement.
Designated airlines operating to the territory of more than one other Party on the same scheduled service are entitled to pick up and put down their own passengers traveling between the territories of the other Parties (own stopover traffic).
Stage 2 – Internal Single Aviation Market
The designated airlines of any Party to this Agreement are entitled to operate scheduled 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th freedom services between the territories of all Parties to this Agreement.
Where a Party already has rights for its designated airlines to operate scheduled 5th freedom services between the territory of another Party to this Agreement and the territory of a State that is not a Party to this Agreement, those rights may continue to be exercised.
The designated airlines of all Parties to this Agreement may operate scheduled 5th freedom services between the territory of another Party to this Agreement and, to the extent that bilateral arrangements allow, the territory of a State that is not a Party to this Agreement for the carriage of passengers whose journey originates in any State that is not a Party to this Agreement.
Stage 3 – Full Single Aviation Market
The designated airlines of all Parties to this Agreement may operate:
(a) scheduled 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th freedom services between all Parties to this Agreement; and(b) to the extent that bilateral arrangements with States that are not a Party to this Agreement allow, scheduled beyond (5th freedom) services to and from those States.
Source Material:
which can be found here:
*Kiribati is a signatory to the original PIASA agreement, which did not include 5th freedom flights.