Air travelers warned of liability risks – "Book all air
travel from home"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 19 August 2009
CONTACT: Peter Carter on 07 3210 3409 or 0422 445 599
Recent overseas air crashes involving Australian passengers are tragic reminders
of the importance of booking every leg of an international journey - especially
side trips - from home, according to an aviation law expert.
Under air carriage law, the liability of every airline and its pilots is “capped”. The
amount of the cap depends on the airline and the country where the accident
occurred or, in some cases, where the flight was ticketed.
According to Peter Carter of Carter Capner Law in Brisbane, "Some countries
have very low liability caps. For example, in Indonesia the maximum available
compensation (“cap”) is around $10,000 even for catastrophic injuries or death.
In PNG, it’s around $66,000 per passenger. In New Zealand, there is no
compensation at all."
However, where the internal flights are booked as part of the international
itinerary, the liability limit can be that which applies in the country where the
booking is made, Mr Carter said.
“Taking the recent Kokoda tragedy as an example, families of those passengers
ticketed from Australia will have access to far greater airline compensation than
those who purchased tickets for the internal flight in Papua New Guinea.”
Side trips often present a higher safety risk than international airline flights
among other things, because of the geography of the destination. “That's just
another reason to make sure the highest level of compensation applies if an
accident occurs, by booking before you go,” said Mr Carter.
Popular side trips often taken by tourists include the Milford Sound or Bay of
Islands in New Zealand or inter-island flights in Fiji and other Asia-Pacific
destinations.
Australia’s international carriage compensation regime was updated on 24
January 2009 so that the Montréal convention 1999 now applies. An airline is
automatically liable for injuries up to $200,000 but will also be presumed liable
for all additional passenger losses with no upper limit unless the airline proves
the accident wasn't its fault.
This also has implications for the Australian taxpayer. If for example, an
employee of Australian business or government is seriously injured on an internal
PNG flight that was booked in Papua New Guinea, the airline and its insurer
escapes all liability for the injured passenger's injuries that exceeds the fixed
cap. That leaves the Australian taxpayer to pick up the bill for the remainder of
the passenger’s injuries through WorkCover schemes, Medicare and public
hospitals. “Governments should ensure that this practice is made part of
standing Public Service requirements.”
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