What is the real legal status of an airport transit area?
According to Russian president Vladmir Putin in the Edward Snowden case, an airport "transit area" is not subject to the authority of the country in which it lies, because the passengers there are not required to pass through that country's immigration process.
Is there any legal basis or precedent for this?
Best Answer
The very existence of an airport transit area is a direct result of the country's laws. What can or cannot happen is entirely up to that country. Even immigration regulations (including regulations allowing transit without visas under certain conditions) fully apply. So, to the extent that local law allows it (if the authorities care about local law, obviously), Russia could perfectly have extradited, arrested or deported Edward Snowden.
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What is considered the transit area of an airport?
The transit areas are defined for travellers which are making en route stops while changing flights to next destinations. This way these travellers don't have to go through immigration and custom checks as they have not formally entered the country they are transiting through.Is an airport considered international territory?
This is not universal. The laws governing the territory of "international zone" are still subject to the laws of the country where airport is located. The general answer to your question is no, there's no special "international law area" - nothing like that.FRANKFURT AIRPORT TRANSFER - Transit Procedure for Connection Flight - Airport Travel video
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