The EU Court of Justice said Thursday that pets are not exempt from āthe concept of baggage” as liability for air carriers.
The court ruled that, for air travel, a pet falls within the concept of ābaggageā and compensation for the damage resulting from the loss of a pet is subject to liability rules for baggage. “Even though the ordinary meaning of the word ābaggageā refers to objects, this alone does not lead to the conclusion that pets fall outside that concept,” it stated.
“The concept of āpersonsā corresponds to that of āpassengersā, with the result that a pet cannot be considered to be a āpassenger.ā” It also said the limit on an air carrierās liability for the loss of baggage includes non-material damage as well as material damage, Anadolu writes.
“If a passenger considers that that limit is insufficient, a special declaration of interest in delivery at destination allows him or her to increase the limit, subject to approval by the air carrier and to the payment of a supplementary sum if the case so requires,” it noted.
The ruling stems from a case involving a dog that died while being transported by an airline in 2019. During a 22 October 2019Ā flightĀ from Argentina to Spain, a passenger’s dog escaped while being carried to the plane and was not recovered. The passenger claimed compensation of EUR 5,000 for the non-material damage suffered.
