Air Carrier Liability

When we book flights for you, we do so as your agent. The airline is responsible for operating the flight and for the rights and remedies described below, and we will help you with any claim you need to make.

Most international flights are covered by the Montreal Convention, and some by the older and less generous Warsaw Convention. The conventions set the airline's liability for death or injury, for delay and for baggage. Their limits are expressed in Special Drawing Rights, an international unit whose value in dollars changes daily.

Under the Montreal Convention there is no financial limit on an airline's liability for death or bodily injury. For damages up to 151,880 Special Drawing Rights the airline cannot exclude or limit its liability; above that amount it can defend a claim by proving that it was not negligent or otherwise at fault. Airlines based in the European Union must also make an advance payment within 15 days of identifying the person entitled to it, of at least 16,000 Special Drawing Rights in the event of death.

For damage caused by the delay of passengers, the airline's liability is limited to 6,303 Special Drawing Rights, unless it proves that it took all reasonable measures to avoid the damage or that it was impossible to take them.

For the destruction, loss, damage or delay of baggage, the airline's liability is limited to 1,519 Special Drawing Rights per passenger. For checked baggage the airline is liable even if it was not at fault, unless the baggage was already defective; for cabin baggage, only if it was at fault. You may be able to raise the limit by making a special declaration of value at check-in and paying any supplement the airline asks.

Damage to checked baggage must be reported to the airline in writing within 7 days of receiving it, and delay within 21 days of the baggage being placed at your disposal. Any action for damages must be brought within two years of the date of arrival, or of the date on which the aircraft ought to have arrived.

Under U.S. Department of Transportation rules, you are entitled to a refund if an airline cancels or significantly changes a flight to, from or within the United States and you do not accept the alternative or the compensation it offers. The Department of Transportation's Aviation Consumer Protection website explains these and your other rights.

Flights departing from the European Union or the United Kingdom, and many flights arriving there on European or British airlines, fall under their passenger rights rules, which can provide care, rerouting or a refund and, in some cases, fixed compensation for cancellation, long delay or denied boarding.

This summary reflects the Montreal Convention's limits as revised on December 28, 2024, and the rules in force on the date below. The airline's conditions of carriage, which may give more generous terms, are available from the airline.