Warsaw & Montreal Conventions.. Our Legal Rights on Air..
Warsaw & Montreal Conventions
Our Legal Rights on Air
The Warsaw Convention was originally signed into effect in 1929.
After more then 20 years, The Montreal Convention replaced the Warsaw Convention to provide travelers additional important protections that govern airlines obligations. Today, over 109 parties, including the entire European Union, have agreed to abide by the Montreal Convention, providing travelers unified protection while they travel.
The Warsaw Convention
First signed into effect in 1929, the Warsaw Convention provided the first set of rules for the budding industry of international commercial aviation. Because the Convention’s rules were amended at The Hague in 1955 and Montreal in 1975, some courts viewed the original convention as a separate entity from the following two amendments.
The original convention set in place several guaranteed rights that all travelers have come to appreciate today. The Warsaw Convention set the standard to issue physical tickets for all air travelers, and the right to baggage check tickets for luggage trusted to airlines for delivery at a travelers’ final destination.
More importantly, the Warsaw Convention (and the subsequent amendments) set damages for travelers in the event of the worst case scenario.
Regulations of The Warsaw Convention
The Warsaw Convention set the benchmark for liability that airlines had for luggage in their care. For signatory countries of the Convention, airlines operating in those countries were liable for 17 Special Drawing Rights (SDR) per kilogram of checked luggage lost or destroyed. This would be later amended in Montreal to add $20 per kilogram of checked luggage lost or destroyed for those countries that did not sign on with the 1975 amendments. In order to receive money guaranteed by the Warsaw Convention, a claim must be brought forward within two years of the loss.
In addition, the Warsaw Convention created the standard for personal injury suffered by travelers as a result of an aviation incident. Those passengers injured or killed while flying on a common air carrier could be entitled to a maximum of 16,600 SDR, convertible to their local currency.
The Montreal Convention
In 1999, the Montreal Convention replaced and further clarified the protections offered travelers by the Warsaw Convention. As of January 2015, 108 members of the International Civil Aviation Organization (IATA) have signed on to the Montreal Convention, representing over half of the United Nations organization’s membership.
In addition, the Montreal Convention set damages for lost or destroyed luggage based on individual pieces. Travelers are entitled to a maximum of 1,131 SDR if luggage is lost or otherwise destroyed.
In addition, airlines are required to pay travelers for expenses due to misplaced luggage.
How Travel Insurance is Affected by the Conventions
While the Montreal Convention offers guaranteed protections, the provisions many not replace the need for travel insurance. There are many additional protections that travelers may want that a travel insurance policy can provide.
For example, many travel insurance policies offer an accidental death and dismemberment benefit while traveling on a common carrier. The accidental death and dismemberment guarantee payment up to the limit of the policy in the event that a traveler loses life or limb while flying on an airline.
In addition, while damage or loss of checked luggage is protected, luggage is sometimes more valuable than the maximum provisions. Most travel insurance policies also carry a baggage loss benefit, in the event that baggage is temporarily delayed or lost entirely. Travelers who have their luggage lost can receive daily compensation as long as their luggage is gone.