ABSTRACT
While in the early 1980s the pressure for international liberalization and change emanated from the United States and primarily affected air services to and from North America, in the second half of the decade the focus of deregulation switched to Europe. Consumer pressures for liberalization of air transport built up throughout the 1980s. They were reinforced by the mounting pressure both from within the European Parliament and from the Commission of the European Communities for major changes to the structure of regulations affecting air services between the member countries of the Common Market. But it was not till the mid-1980s that the first significant breakthroughs were achieved. Changes in the regulatory environment were introduced in two ways: first, bilaterally through the renegotiation of air services agreements between pairs of countries; secondly, multilaterally, through actions initiated by the European Commission in Brussels or the European Court of Justice. While these two bodies brought about liberalization of air services within the 12 member states of the European Community, they inevitably induced some liberalization within the wider Europe of 23 states grouped within the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC). The 11 ECAC member states that were not within the European Community were anxious not to be bypassed by the regulatory changes taking place within the Community.
