One of the common problems faced by passengers travelling by air is that they check in their luggage into the hold of the aircraft but it doesn’t reach the destination.
One of the common problems faced by passengers travelling by air is that they check in their luggage into the hold of the aircraft but it doesn’t reach the destination.
Till a few weeks ago, the only compensation was to fall back on the Montreal Convention Rules (which are binding on all airlines), in which passengers were compensated to a maximum of $100 or its equivalent.
However, a little-known document gazetted by the Government of India on May 20, 2009, is a major help now. According to section 22 (2) of the Carriage by Air (Amendment) Act, 2009, in case of loss, damage, destruction or delay in carriage of baggage by an airline, the liability of the airline will be limited to a sum of a 1,000 ‘Special Drawing Rights’ (SDRs) for each passenger complaining about such mishap. The Act is applicable to all airlines flying to and from India.
The current dispensation is a quantum shift from the previous Montreal Convention which spoke in terms of compensation payable in terms of ‘per kilo’ or ‘per bag’ calculations, leaving consumers wringing their hands in frustration when precious bags did not reach their destinations along with them. It also takes into consideration that the consumer who loses or receives baggage in a damaged condition or after a delay, has to suffer immense mental pressure too.
SDRs mentioned in the amended act are a currency conversion measure used by the International Monetary Fund and currently, it is understood that one SDR is worth about Rs74. It means that a lost baggage claim by an individual at an airport is worth Rs74,000 to the harassed consumer.
However, the amendment says that the maximum liability of the
carrier will be 1000 SDRs. Ultimately, the onus of proving the value of the contents of the lost baggage still lies on the shoulders of the consumer who loses the baggage. The days of airlines shrugging off their liability by pointing to the ‘maximum liability of $100’ are however, over.
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