Carriage by Air Act, 1972 — back to Table of Contents | See Section 3
Note: This page is a summary of the rules for quick reference, not the verbatim statutory text. For the exact wording of each rule, please refer to the bare Act.
THE FIRST SCHEDULE
(See section 3)
RULES — being the provisions of the Warsaw Convention, 1929, relating to the rights and liabilities of carriers, passengers, consignors, consignees and other persons in international carriage by air.
CHAPTER I — Scope, Definitions
Rule 1. (1) These rules apply to all international carriage of persons, luggage or goods performed by aircraft for reward. They apply also to such carriage when performed gratuitously by an air transport undertaking.
(2) “High Contracting Party” means a High Contracting Party to the Convention.
(3) “International carriage” means any carriage in which, according to the contract made by the parties, the place of departure and the place of destination, whether or not there be a break in the carriage or a transhipment, are situated either within the territories of two High Contracting Parties, or within the territory of a single High Contracting Party, if there is an agreed stopping place within a territory subject to the sovereignty, suzerainty, mandate or authority of another Power, even though that Power is not a party to the Convention. A carriage without such an agreed stopping place between territories subject to the sovereignty, suzerainty, mandate or authority of the same High Contracting Party is not deemed international for the purposes of these rules.
(4) A carriage performed by several successive air carriers is deemed one undivided carriage if regarded by the parties as a single operation, whether agreed under a single contract or a series of contracts, and does not lose its international character merely because one contract is performed entirely within a single High Contracting Party’s territory.
Rule 2. (1) These rules apply to carriage performed by the State or by legally constituted public bodies, provided it falls within Rule 1.
(2) These rules do not apply to carriage performed under any international postal Convention.
CHAPTER II — Documents of Carriage
Part I — Passenger ticket
Rule 3. (1) For the carriage of passengers the carrier must deliver a passenger ticket containing: (a) place and date of issue; (b) place of departure and destination; (c) agreed stopping places (the carrier may reserve the right to alter these without affecting the carriage’s international character); (d) name and address of the carrier(s); (e) a statement that the carriage is subject to the liability rules in this Schedule.
(2) Absence, irregularity, or loss of the ticket does not affect the validity of the contract, but if the carrier accepts a passenger without issuing a ticket, he loses the right to rely on the provisions limiting his liability.
Part II — Luggage ticket
Rules 4–4. The carrier must deliver a luggage ticket (in duplicate) for registered luggage, containing prescribed particulars including place/date of issue, route, carrier details, passenger ticket number, a delivery-to-bearer statement, package count/weight, declared value, and a liability-rules statement. Absence or defect in the required particulars similarly forfeits the carrier’s right to limit liability.
Part III — Air consignment note
Rules 5–16. Every carrier of goods may require the consignor to make out an “air consignment note” in three signed parts (for the carrier, the consignee, and the consignor). It must contain prescribed particulars (route, parties, nature/weight/condition of goods, freight terms, declared value, etc.). The note is prima facie evidence of the contract and of receipt of the goods. The consignor is responsible for the correctness of the particulars he supplies and is liable for damage caused by their incorrectness. The consignor has a right to dispose of the goods in transit (subject to conditions); on arrival, the consignee is entitled to require delivery on payment of charges due. The consignor must furnish documents needed for customs/police formalities and is liable for damage caused by their absence or insufficiency.
CHAPTER III — Liability of the Carrier
Rule 17. The carrier is liable for damage in the event of death, wounding, or bodily injury to a passenger, if the accident took place on board the aircraft or during embarking/disembarking.
Rule 18. The carrier is liable for destruction, loss of, or damage to registered luggage or goods occurring during the carriage by air (defined as the period the goods are in the carrier’s charge, in an aerodrome or aircraft).
Rule 19. The carrier is liable for damage occasioned by delay in carriage of passengers, luggage, or goods.
Rule 20. The carrier is not liable if he proves that he and his agents took all necessary measures to avoid the damage, or that it was impossible to do so; for goods/luggage specifically, he is also excused if the damage resulted from negligent piloting, handling, or navigation (subject to all other necessary measures having been taken).
Rule 21. If the carrier proves the injured person’s own negligence caused or contributed to the damage, the Court may wholly or partly exonerate the carrier.
Rule 22. Liability limits (unless a higher limit is specially agreed): (1) 1,25,000 francs per passenger; (2) 250 francs per kilogramme for registered luggage/goods (unless a higher value is declared and a supplementary charge paid); (3) 5,000 francs per passenger for objects the passenger keeps in his own charge. (4) The “franc” referred to means the French gold franc of 65½ milligrammes gold, millesimal fineness 900.
Rule 23. Any clause purporting to relieve the carrier of liability or fix a lower limit than these rules is null and void, but does not invalidate the rest of the contract.
Rule 24. Actions for damages covered by Rules 18 and 19 can only be brought subject to the conditions and limits in this Schedule; this also applies to Rule 17 cases, without prejudice to who may sue and their respective rights.
Rule 25. The carrier cannot rely on the provisions excluding or limiting liability if the damage resulted from his (or his agent’s, acting within employment) wilful misconduct or equivalent default.
Rule 26. Receipt of luggage/goods without complaint is prima facie evidence of good delivery. Complaints must be made in writing within 3 days (luggage) or 7 days (goods) of receipt, or within 14 days of the goods being placed at disposal in case of delay — failing which no action lies, except in case of the carrier’s fraud.
Rules 27–30. On death of the liable person, an action lies against his legal representatives. Actions must be brought, at the plaintiff’s option, before the court of the carrier’s residence, principal place of business, place of contract, or place of destination. The right to damages is extinguished if no action is brought within two years from arrival, expected arrival, or the stopping of carriage. For successive carriers, each is subject to these rules for the part of carriage under his supervision; specific rules govern which carrier(s) may be sued for passenger versus luggage/goods claims.
CHAPTER IV — Provisions Relating to Combined Carriage
Rule 31. In combined carriage (partly by air, partly by other means), these rules apply only to the carriage by air, provided it falls within Rule 1. Parties may insert conditions relating to other modes of carriage in the air document, provided these rules are observed as regards the air portion.
CHAPTER V — General and Final Provisions
Rule 32. Any clause or special agreement made before the damage occurred, purporting to infringe these rules (by choosing a different law or altering jurisdiction), is null and void — except that arbitration clauses for carriage of goods are permitted if arbitration is to occur within one of the jurisdictions specified in Rule 28.
Rules 33–36. Nothing prevents the carrier from refusing a contract or making non-conflicting regulations. This Schedule does not apply to experimental trial carriage or carriage in extraordinary circumstances outside the normal scope of the carrier’s business. “Days” means calendar days, not working days. A High Contracting Party may declare these rules inapplicable to international carriage performed directly by the State or its territories.
