International flight
An international flight is a form of commercial flight within civil aviation where the departure and the arrival take place in different countries.[1]
Since its origins, international commercial flights have taken place with a variety of aircraft types including airplanes and airships. Modern international flight typically takes place on wide-body aircraft and involves immigration and customs formalities through international airports.
History
[edit]One of the first flights between two countries was on January 7, 1785, when Jean-Pierre Blanchard and John Jeffries crossed the English Channel in a hot air balloon.[2] It took more than a century for the first heavier-than-air object to repeat this process: Louis Blériot crossed the English Channel on July 25, 1909,[3] winning a Daily Mail prize of £1,000.[4]
The first airline to operate international flights was Chalk's Ocean Airways, established 1917, which operated scheduled seaplane services from Florida to the Bahamas.
Regular international commercial aviation began on August 25, 1919 with a flight going from Hounslow Heath Aerodrome in London, England to Le Bourget, near Paris, France. The journey was organized and operated by the firm Aircraft Transport and Travel (AT&T), a forerunner of British Airways (BA). Besides ferrying travelers, the flights, which occurred daily, also transported mail and parcels. The De Havilland DH4A aircraft were designed for combat during the First World War but saw extensive later use. Looking back, historical writer Paul Jarvis commented that during the "very early days it was very much just about persuading people to fly at all" given that "quite a lot of people" considered aviation as a whole to be "just a passing fad."[5][6][7][8]
The post-war period brought about widespread cultural changes in multiple nations that resulted in international flights becoming embraced by large populations. After World War II, international commercial flights were regulated by the creation of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Both organizations continue into the 21st century.
Immigration and customs formalities
[edit]An important difference between international and domestic flights is that, before boarding the aircraft, passengers must undergo migration formalities and, when arriving to the destination airport, they must undergo both immigration and customs formalities. Exceptions exist in situations such as when the departure and arrival countries are members of the same diplomatically organized free travel area, an example being the Schengen Area within Europe. Said group of traveling agreements resulted from the 1985 Schengen Agreement and the 1990 Schengen Convention, both matters of international law being signed in Luxembourg.
International airports
[edit]Airports serving international flights are known as international airports. For example, King Fahd International Airport within the Dammam metropolis of Saudi Arabia has the largest landmass of any airport in the world, with the complex encompassing over three-hundred square miles of territory. By comparison, the Middle Eastern nation of Bahrain is actually smaller.[9] These international facilities typically are of a far greater size than standard airports, usually including expanded amenities such as areas with bookshops, lounges, and restaurants. Experiences not normally associated with airports such as banks providing financial services may be offered to travelers in such complexes.
Aircraft
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Most modern international passenger travel takes place using wide-body aircraft but all types of aircraft can be used, including private jets and airships.
See also
[edit]
- Airliner
- Bilateral air transport agreement
- Convention on International Civil Aviation
- Domestic flight
- Non-stop flight
- IATA
- ICAO
References
[edit]- ^ "International flight". WordNet Search - 3.1. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
- ^ "Boston's first aeronaut". The New York Times. July 10, 1885.
- ^ "Blériot Tells of his Flight" (PDF). The New York Times. July 26, 1909. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
- ^ "The New 'Daily Mail' Prizes". Flight. 5 (223): 393. April 5, 1913.
- ^ Street, Francesca (26 August 2019). "100 years ago: The first scheduled international passenger flight departed". CNN.com. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
- ^ "100 Years Ago The First International Passenger Flight Took Off". www.cbsnews.com. 2019-08-25. Retrieved 2025-06-27.
- ^ Puente, Maria. "Queen Elizabeth II visits British Airways as airline marks 100th anniversary". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2025-06-27.
- ^ "100 years ago today: The first scheduled international passenger flight departed". FOX 13 News. 2019-08-26. Retrieved 2025-06-27.
- ^ Sweeney, Chris (February 17, 2010). "The World's 18 Strangest Airports". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved December 4, 2022.