Airspace sovereignty and legal baundaries, conceptual foundations, historical analysis and future perspectives

Under international law, each state has full and exclusive sovereignty over its own territory and the airspace above its territorial waters. This sovereignty authorizes states to control, permit or prohibit the entry of foreign civil and military aircraft into their airspace. However, this sovereignty is subject to certain rules in line with the safety and cooperation requirements of international air traffic. In exercising their sovereignty, States are obliged to act in a manner that ensures the peaceful and safe use of airspace. Although it is recognized in international law that airspace should be used peacefully, we encounter violations of these rules. Violations of airspace are often for military or espionage purposes and can cause tensions in international relations. Under international air law, states can take various measures to protect their airspace. Today, air sovereignty and airspace protection issues are becoming more important with technological developments. Especially these developments have a great impact on air traffic management and air traffic control systems. In this study, all these issues have been examined in detail, and the importance of airspace and the fact that it is an area open to threats have been discussed. At the same time, it is tried to explain what can be done nationally and internationally to protect this area.