The Montreal Convention sets out airlines’ liabilities for passengers and their baggage. It applies to international travel only. But many countries have similar legislation for domestic travel. And it applies for any journey within the EU (including domestic journeys within a single Member State), because its provisions have been replicated in EU legislation.
Most journeys starting in the UK will come under the Montreal Convention, but there may be some journeys where different liability regimes apply.
The Montreal Convention covers liability for:
Claims for death or injury are best dealt with by lawyers with experience in personal injury cases. But if you do try to go it alone, remember that the Convention has a two-year time limit for starting court action. Don’t let the airline or its insurers string you along in correspondence past the two-year deadline.
The two-year deadline also applies to bringing action for claims for delay or for baggage problems. But, in practice, these claims are less likely to result in court action, not least because the Convention places limits on airlines’ liability in these areas. The limit for claims for delay is 4,694 Special Drawing Rights per passenger, and for baggage it is 1,131 Special Drawing Rights per passenger.
These are maximum limits: claims are assessed individually on the basis of the “damage occasioned by delay in the carriage by air of passengers, baggage or cargo” or of the “damage sustained in the event of the destruction or loss of, or damage” to baggage” (see our separate pages for advice on delays and mishandled baggage).
Click here to see the Montreal Convention
