Aviation is no longer reserved for the elite class. It has become a daily means of mass transportation. When passengers confine themselves to a limited space in the sky at the mercy of the aircraft operator, there is a natural sentiment to seek far more guarantees of safety. Secondly, the degree of fatality associated with aircraft accidents further intensifies such a fear. As man enters almost the second decade of the third millennium, concern over aviation safety is stronger than ever.

1. AIR CARRIER LIABILITY

2. WHAT IS LIABILITY?
Air carriers are liable for
loss and damage if
caused by the negligence
of the carrier or its agents
occurring while the
shipment is in their care.
The terms of liability,
including limitation, are
presented by the carrier to
the shipper in the air waybill,
and are contractually
accepted when shipment is
made on that air waybill.
DOMESTIC AIR
CARRIAGE

3. WHAT IS AIR WAYBILL?
An air waybill (AWB) or air
consignment note is a receipt issued
by an airline for goods and an evidence
of the contract of carriage, but it is not
adocument of title to the goods. Hence,
the air waybill is non-negotiable.

4. Article 8: Sets out 17 distinct
categories of information which an Air
Waybill must contain.
Article 9: Non-compliance with 10 of
those categories results in the loss of
the carrier's right to invoke the liability
limits of the Convention
WARASW
CONVENTION OF
1929

5. Article 5: Air Waybill or Cargo Receipt must
specify information on routing and weight of
the consignment under 3 headings:
▸An indication of the places of departure
and destination;
▸An agreed stopping place within the
territory of another state;
▸An indication of the weight of the
consignment.
MONTREAL
CONVENTION
1999

6. MONTREAL
CONVENTION
Article 9: A deficient or defective Air
Waybill/Cargo Receipt does NOT set
aside the applicability of the Convention’s
liability limits for cargo.
Although does not require strict
compliance with documentation
requirements for liability limits to apply,
there is still documentation complies for a
Carrier to ensure.

7. Under Article 11, an Air Waybill or Cargo
Receipt is prima facie evidence of value:
▸conclusion of a contract of carriage;
▸acceptance of the cargo by the carrier;
▸the conditions of carriage therein
mentioned
Article 12: Rights of the Consignor
Article 13: Rights of the Consignee
Article 14: Enforcement of rights
MONTREAL
CONVENTION

8. There is no express mention of the rights of the
actual owner of the goods in either Warsaw
Convention or Montreal Convention of 1999. The
provisions on rights and duties are restricted to
consignors and consignees.
Damage to Cargo – Carrier is strictly liable as long
as the event which caused the damage took place
during the carriage by air.

9. Article 18(2) lists 4 defences that the carrier
may rely upon to avoid liability:
▸Inherent defect, quality or vice of that
cargo
▸Defective packing performed by a person
other than the carrier
▸An act of war or armed conflict
▸An act of public authority carried out in
connection with the entry, exit or transfer
of the cargo

10. Article 18(3): Period of carriage by air: Period
during which the cargo is in the charge of the
carrier. Disputes usually arise when damage
occurs during transshipment of the cargo by
some other means apart from air transport.
Article 22(3): destruction, loss, damage or
delay is limited to a sum of 17 Special
Drawing Rights per kilogram (US$ 25.20 per
kilogram)
10

11. SHRIPAD J.
Thank You