An Indian citizen flying by any airline will soon get the same compensation for loss of baggage or injuries as a US, European or a Japanese citizen.
On Wednesday, the Lok Sabha passed the Carriage by Air (Amendment) Bill, 2008 to adopt the Montreal Convention. The compensation for Indian passengers will now be on a par with global levels. It will not matter if the baggage loss or accident is on an Indian carrier or a foreign one. It will also not matter whether the destination is domestic or foreign.
But the new law could cast more financial burden on bleeding Indian carriers, as the scale of compensation for injuries suffered on board and loss of baggage has been ratcheted up seven times. But civil aviation minister Praful Patel said this should not impact airfares.
For instance, the compensation for injury or death on board will be $140,000 per person from around $20,000 now. The compensation for damage to the checked baggage increases from about $20 per kg to around $1,400 per passenger. The compensation for damage to cargo is raised from $20 per kg to $24 per kg.
?By amending certain provisions of the Carriage by Air Act of 1972 to include the text of the Montreal Convention as the Third Schedule, this would have the force of law in India in relation to any air carriage irrespective of the nationality of the aircraft,? civil aviation minister Praful Patel said, while piloting the Bill.
The minister said airfare will not be impacted as compensation would mostly come from insurance companies.
The Montreal Convention 1999 is incidentally a response to the poor levels of global compensations, documented by the International Civil Aviation Organisation in a a socio-economic study. The convention unified the rules for international air carriage with the aim of modernising and consolidating the various instruments comprising the Warsaw System.
The Montreal Convention has already been ratified by 86 countries, out of which 25 have direct air links with India, including routes with high traffic density such as the UK, US, UAE and Qatar.
