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This is an archive article published on May 1, 2008

Lost baggage in overseas travel? Get back $1,400

International travelers from India will now be compensated as much as any other overseas traveler if they sustain injuries...

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International travelers from India will now be compensated as much as any other overseas traveler if they sustain injuries or if their baggage is damaged or delayed. At present, they are paid a pittance of just $20,000 or Rs 8 lakh in case of bodily injury or death and $20 or Rs 800 per kilo of damaged luggage.

The Carriage by Air (Amendment) Bill, 2008, which adopts the Montreal Convention, brings Indian overseas travellers on an equal footing to their foreign counterparts. Passed by the Lok Sabha today, it provides seven times higher compensation of $,140,000 or Rs 56 lakh for death or bodily injury a passenger. For lost or damaged checked-in baggage, the payout has been almost doubled to $1,400 (Rs 56,000). Similarly, reimbursement for damages to cargo will be increased from $20 (Rs 800) a kilo to $24 or Rs 960 a kilo.

“Today, when Indian carriers fly to countries that have adopted the Convention, they have to insure for the liability limits set out in the Montreal Convention, even though (we) have not acceded to it,” minister of civil aviation Praful Patel said in Parliament. “If India does not adopt it, the passengers originating and terminating their journey in India (who are mostly Indian nationals) would be deprived of the benefits of enhanced liability.”

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Until now, India had enforced only two instruments— the Warsaw Convention and the Hague protocol— that deal with the issue of compensations. The Warsaw system at present gives four choices of jurisdiction to the passenger for filing a claim. These are the place of issue of ticket, principle place of business of the carrier, the place of destination of the passenger and the place of domicile of the carrier. The Montreal Convention shall now add a fifth jurisdiction — which is the place of domicile of the passenger, provided the airline has a presence there. Hence, an Indian would be able to file claim in India even if the journey was undertaken abroad.

The Montreal Convention was adopted by ICAO in 1999 to enable unification of certain rules for international carriage by air. The convention has already been ratified by 86 countries, out of which 25 have direct air links with India. “In such a situation, non accession of the convention by India may give rise to a situation involving serious discrimination between the passengers of the same flight with regard to compensation. It is therefore necessary to accede to it,” Patel informed.

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