A Study of Legal Restrictions on International Air Cargo Services

국제항공화물운송의 법적 규제에 대한 고찰

International air transport for cargo services is a facilitator for various trade sectors and, by itself, an important service industry. Although international air cargo industry is expected to grow continuously, industry stakeholders complain about legal constraints in the industry and demand more liberalized regime. From its birth at the beginning of the 20th century, the airline industry was tightly regulated by governments with a strong tradition of protectionism. In the past few decades, however, protectionism in the airline industry has steadily declined. Indeed, the airline industry is largely in the process of liberalization. Interestingly, it has been easier to liberalize air cargo service than passenger service. Indeed, states have traditionally shown far more willingness to provide market access for foreign carriers carrying cargo than passengers. Given the impact of air cargo service in a state's wider economy and own characteristics of cargo services (i.e. air cargo traffic is inherently one-way, unlike passenger traffic, which tends to involve round trips), more liberalized approach is necessary for air cargo services. Among three approaches: bilateral, regional (block-based) and multilateral, it is desirable to adopt a multilateral treaty (a new multilateral all-cargo agreement) so as to harmonize and simplify complicated trade regulations on air cargo services.