A pet’s life might be priceless for its owner, but a European court has ruled that a price can very much be set for the life of a dog or other much-loved pet if an airline ends up killing, losing, or seriously injuring it – that price is just $2,179 (and that’s the maximum).
The controversial ruling stems from a case brought by a Spanish woman called Felicísima, who traveled with her pet dog on an Iberia flight from Buenos Aires to Barcelona with a stopover in Madrid in October 2019.
As Felicísima’s dog was too large to travel in the cabin, she had to check her pet into the hold in a special crate. During the flight, the crate became unsecured, and the dog escaped into the cargo hold.
When the baggage handlers opened the cargo hold at Madrid Barajas Airport, the dog managed to escape onto the tarmac. Despite repeated attempts to find the dog, Felicísima’s pet was never recovered and was lost forever.
Felicísima took Iberia to court, claiming €5,000 in compensation for emotional distress. The airline agreed that it owed Felicísima compensation for the loss of her dog, but argued that she was only entitled to compensation for lost baggage.
The Spanish court that originally heard the case decided that the consequences of their ruling could have such massive ramifications that they referred it to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a decision.
On Thursday, the court handed down its judgment, ruling that pets are nothing more than baggage for the purposes of compensation.
The judges based their decision on the Montreal Convention, a treaty that governs passengers’ rights during the course of an international flight. Ratified in 1999, the Montreal Convention has become an incredibly important law that gives passengers powerful rights.
The convention is perhaps best known for making airlines liable for injuries or death sustained by passengers during the course of a flight. It also makes airlines liable for loss, damage, or destruction of baggage.
As you can probably guess, the compensation limits for injury or death are a lot higher than for the loss or destruction of baggage.
The court, therefore, examined whether a pet could be considered a ‘passenger’ for the purposes of compensation. The judges quickly decided, however, that this was a non-starter and “consequently, for the purposes of air travel, a pet falls within the concept of baggage.”
The ruling continued: “The fact that the protection of animal welfare is an objective of general interest recognized by the European Union does not prevent animals from being transported as ‘baggage’ and from being regarded as such for the purposes of the liability resulting from the loss of an animal, upon the condition that full regard is paid to animal welfare requirements while they are transported.”
The Montreal Convention sets compensation limits in ‘Special Drawing Rights’, which represents a basket of currencies, meaning that its value can fluctuate just like a real currency.
When the Montreal Convention was created, the compensation limit for loss, damage, or destruction of baggage was set at 1,000 Special Drawing Rights, which, today, would be worth around $1,435.
In 1999, the limit was increased to 1,288 Special Drawing Rights, and it was increased further last December to 1,519 Special Drawing Rights, worth around $2,179.
Pet owners might be able to claim a higher level of compensation if they submit a ‘special declaration of interest’ with the airline prior to checking in their pet. The airline must, however, agree to the higher rate of compensation.
