Evolution of Air Passenger Rights: Past, Present and Future

How It All Began

The first milestone for air passenger rights was the Warsaw Convention (officially known as the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Carriage by Air) in 1929, a treaty that established the first legal framework for liability in air travel. Its key points included liability for carriers for damages to passengers, baggage and cargo with specific monetary limits; indicated limits for passenger death or injury, for lost or damaged baggage and cargo; it also made it mandatory to provide passengers with tickets, and shipments with cargo waybill, outlining terms and conditions of travel and transport. A total of 31 countries signed this treaty, taking a significant step toward international aviation law. However, it was complicated, had limited liability and became outdated overtime.

Seventy years later, in 1999, the Montreal Convention (officially known as the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air) took place. Its main purpose was to modernize and update the older Warsaw Convention. It updated already existing rules for liability for passenger injury and death, damaged and lost baggage and cargo, but it also added and addressed topics of delays and denied carriage, establishing monetary compensation limits. This time, a total of 135 countries signed it. It had simplified the legal framework, increased liability limits, introduced electronic documentation and was more widely accepted. But, as we moved forward, it became clear that it had some drawbacks as well, more specifically – not all countries ratified the Convention, causing inconsistencies between it and local laws, and challenges with enforcement.

Current State

In the present days, air passenger rights are defined more clearly, especially within the European Union. Made in 2004, EU Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 was a significant piece of legislation that established common rules for the rights of air passengers in the EU. It clearly defined rights in case of flight irregularities (delays and cancellations) and denied boarding, added accountability of airlines for disruptions. It has wide applicability, encourages airlines to be punctual, applies high accountability for air carriers, provides clear definitions of irregularities and gives guidelines on assistance and care.

There are other regulations around the world that address passenger rights in air travel, but nothing as broad as the EC 261/2004. In the United States passenger rights are enforced by the Department of Transportation, India has the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Canada has Air Passenger Protection Regulations and so on, but they all are tailored to their respective markets and specifics. And although most of the air travellers are covered by one or another regulation norm, there are challenges that will need to be addressed in the future.

Future Promises

Even though the situation is better now than it was a century ago, it is clear that the current state requires amendments and improvements. There are ongoing discussions about potentially introducing new frameworks. What can be expected is more inclusion of passengers with disabilities and animals. For example, in 2020, there was a case of a dog receiving compensation for a cancelled flight.

We can also expect global standardisation, to ensure passenger rights are observed everywhere. Technological progress affects things already today, and in the future we can expect faster, smoother or automatic claims handling.

With the increase of various advocacy groups and assistance companies, such as Skycop, airlines are pushed for transparency and more responsibility. Perhaps we can even expect increased liability limits, as the ones set before might feel a little outdated.

To conclude, we can say that the situation with air passengers rights is not bad, but not perfect either, especially if you are not under the jurisdiction of EC 261/2004 regulation. So, if you find yourself in need of help or at least an answer about your eligibility for compensation – contact us!  Skycop can help you get compensated if your flight was disrupted. 

Safe travels!