cabotage

American  

[kab-uh-tij, kab-uh-tahzh] / ˈkæb ə tɪdʒ, ˌkæb əˈtɑʒ /

noun

1. navigation or trade along the coast.

2. Aviation. the legal restriction to domestic carriers of air transport between points within a country's borders.

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cabotage British  

/ ˈkæbəˌtɑːʒ /

noun

1. nautical coastal navigation or shipping, esp within the borders of one country

2. reservation to a country's carriers of its internal traffic, esp air traffic

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Etymology

Origin of cabotage

1825–35; < French, derivative of caboter to sail coastwise, verbal derivative of Middle French cabo < Spanish cabo headland, cape ²; see -age

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cabotage

For the airlines, cabotage corridors could be established within such high-efficiency regions as the European Union or Singapore, only later expanding as carriers find their footing on the global stage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026

“The Uluburun ship represented long-distance interregional elite exchange, and the Cape Gelidonya ship was involved in local coastal cabotage, or opportunistic trade, where goods and services were purchased and sold at ports for quick profit.”

From New York Times ● Jun. 20, 2024

One such proposal would allow "cabotage," a rare practice allowing foreign carriers to open domestic routes in the country.

From Reuters ● Feb. 22, 2023

It also announced it would make temporary changes to cabotage rules, which govern how many jobs a haulier can make in a foreign country.

From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2021

Small vessels belonging to foreigners, and employed in cabotage, must not sail with their own papers, and even a change of name is effected under difficulties.

From Two Trips to Gorilla Land and the Cataracts of the Congo Volume 1 by Sir Richard Francis Burton