The Montreal Convention: airline liability for delay and baggage

What is the Montreal Convention?

The Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air was agreed in Montreal on 28 May 1999 under the auspices of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). It replaced, between the states that ratified it, the patchwork of the 1929 Warsaw Convention and its amending protocols, whose weight-based baggage limits and low caps it superseded. The UK, the European Union itself and its Member States are parties, as are most of the world's major aviation states.

The Convention covers three things for passengers: death and bodily injury (Article 17(1)), delay (Article 19) and baggage – destruction, loss, damage (Article 17(2)) and delay (Article 19). It also covers cargo, which this guide does not deal with. Article 29 makes the Convention the exclusive basis for damages claims within its scope and rules out punitive damages; Article 26 makes void any contract term that tries to lower the limits or relieve the airline of liability.

When does it apply?

• International carriage (Article 1): where the place of departure and destination are in two states that are parties, or in one state with an agreed stopping place in another state – for example a return trip London–New York–London.
• EU airlines – all flights: Regulation (EC) No 2027/97, as amended by Regulation (EC) No 889/2002, applies the Convention's liability rules to EU airlines, including on domestic flights within a single Member State.
• UK airlines – all flights: the UK kept the same approach after Brexit, and certifies the revised limits in UK law by statutory instrument (most recently SI 2025/123).

For other airlines on purely domestic flights outside the UK and EU, national law applies instead – for example US rules on US domestic flights.

The liability limits: 2019 and 2024 revisions

Article 24 requires ICAO to review the limits every five years using an inflation factor. The figures below are from ICAO's own notice of the 2024 revision and the UK's 2025 Order certifying it.

The limits in Article 22(1) and (2) do not apply if the damage resulted from an act or omission of the airline or its staff done with intent to cause damage, or recklessly and with knowledge that damage would probably result (Article 22(5)). For baggage, a special declaration of interest made at check-in (with any supplement paid) raises the limit to the declared sum (Article 22(2)).

Many websites still quote 1,288 SDR or round euro and pound figures. ICAO's notice states that the revised limits apply from 28 December 2024; the UK certified them with effect from 7 February 2025 (SI 2025/123).

What is an SDR, and what is it worth?

A Special Drawing Right is an international reserve asset and unit of account created by the International Monetary Fund. Its value is set daily from a basket of five currencies – the US dollar, euro, Chinese renminbi, Japanese yen and pound sterling. Using SDRs keeps the limits stable across countries.

Conversions use the IMF's published rates for 10 November 2026: €1.209120 and £1.009910 per SDR. They change daily; check the current rate on the IMF website. In court proceedings, Article 23 converts at the rate on the date of the judgment.

Liability for passenger delay (Article 19)

Article 19 makes the airline liable for damage occasioned by delay in the carriage of passengers. Unlike EU261/UK261, this is not a fixed payment: you must show a financial loss caused by the delay, such as:

• a pre-paid hotel night or car hire you could not use;
• a non-refundable ticket for an event, tour or onward train you missed;
• extra transport or accommodation costs not covered by the airline's care;
• in some cases, lost earnings that you can prove.

The airline is not liable if it proves that it and its staff and agents took all measures that could reasonably be required to avoid the damage, or that it was impossible to take them. The claim is capped at 6,303 SDR per passenger, and the Article 35 two-year time limit applies. Which? describes such consequential-loss claims as possible but tricky – keep every receipt and booking confirmation.

How Montreal fits with EU261 and UK261

Airlines argued for years that EU261's fixed compensation conflicted with the Convention. The Court of Justice disagreed. In IATA and ELFAA (C-344/04, 10 January 2006) it upheld the regulation, treating its standardised assistance and compensation as operating at an earlier stage and outside the Convention's damages regime; later judgments, including Nelson (2012), treated the loss of time caused by a long delay as an inconvenience, not "damage occasioned by delay" under Article 19.

In the UK, the Court of Appeal followed that reasoning in Dawson v Thomson Airways [2014] EWCA Civ 845: a claim for EU261 delay compensation falls outside the Convention, so its 2-year time bar does not apply and the 6-year period under section 9 of the Limitation Act 1980 does. Since 14 December 2023, UK261 says so expressly: compensation and assistance under Articles 7–9 are not liability for "damage occasioned by delay" under Article 19, nor an "action for damages" under Article 29 (Article 3(7)–(8)).

Article 12 of EU261 (and UK261) preserves your right to further compensation, but allows the fixed compensation to be deducted from it. Our EU261 article-by-article guide and UK261 guide cover the fixed-sum side.

Baggage under the Montreal Convention

Three Court of Justice rulings are worth knowing: the baggage limit covers material and non-material damage together (Walz v Clickair, C-63/09, 2010); each passenger can claim for their own items in a bag checked in by a travelling companion (Espada Sánchez v Iberia, C-410/11, 2012); and a complaint recorded in the airline's system can count as "in writing" if the passenger can check it (Finnair v Fennia, C-258/16, 2018). In Vueling (C-86/19, 2020) the Court added that the baggage limit is a maximum, not an automatic payment.

Deadlines under the Convention

Article 35(2) leaves the method of calculating the 2-year period to the law of the court hearing the case. These deadlines are much shorter than the limitation periods for EU261/UK261 fixed compensation, which are covered in our time limits guide.

Where to sue, and which airline

Under Article 33(1) a damages claim can be brought, at your option, in the territory of a party to the Convention: where the airline is domiciled, where it has its principal place of business, where it has a place of business through which the contract was made, or at the place of destination. For death and injury Article 33(2) adds the passenger's principal and permanent residence, subject to conditions.

On journeys with several airlines on one contract, Article 36 lets you claim for baggage from the first airline, the last airline, or the airline that performed the leg where the destruction, loss, damage or delay happened. Where one airline sells the ticket and another operates the flight (a codeshare), Chapter V of the Convention (Articles 39–48) makes both the contracting and the actual carrier answerable, and an action can be brought against either or both (Article 45). In the UK, the CAA's PACT team handles Montreal Convention complaints about airlines that are not in an approved ADR scheme; see complaining to the CAA and ADR schemes.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Montreal Convention?

The Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air, signed in Montreal on 28 May 1999. It sets the rules for airline liability for death or injury of passengers, delay, and loss of or damage to baggage and cargo, with limits in Special Drawing Rights that ICAO reviews every five years.

Does the Montreal Convention apply to domestic flights?

The treaty itself covers international carriage between states that are parties to it. But the EU applies its rules to all flights by EU airlines, including purely domestic ones (Regulation 2027/97 as amended), and the UK does the same for UK airlines. So a London–Edinburgh flight on a UK airline, or a Madrid–Barcelona flight on a Spanish airline, follows Montreal rules for baggage and delay.

Can I claim under both EU261/UK261 and the Montreal Convention?

Yes, for different things. EU261/UK261 pay a fixed sum for the inconvenience of a delay, cancellation or denied boarding; the Montreal Convention reimburses proven financial loss caused by delay (for example, a lost hotel night or a missed event). Article 12 of EU261 lets the airline deduct the fixed compensation from any further compensation you are awarded, so you are not paid twice for the same loss.

How much is 1,519 SDR in pounds or euros?

It depends on the day. Using the IMF's rates for 10 November 2026 (€1.209120 and £1.009910 per SDR), 1,519 SDR was about €1,837 or £1,534. In court, the conversion is made at the rate on the date of the judgment (Article 23).

How long do I have to make a Montreal Convention claim?

Complaints about baggage must be made in writing within 7 days (damage) or 21 days (delay) of receiving the bag. Any court action must be brought within 2 years of arrival at the destination, the date the aircraft should have arrived, or the date the carriage stopped (Article 35). This 2-year limit does not apply to EU261/UK261 fixed compensation, as the Court of Appeal confirmed in Dawson v Thomson Airways (2014).

Can I get damages for stress or a ruined holiday?

For baggage, the Court of Justice held in Walz v Clickair (C-63/09, 2010) that the limit covers both material and non-material damage. Article 29 rules out punitive or other non-compensatory damages. Whether, and how much, non-material loss is awarded is decided by the court hearing the claim.

General information, not legal advice; we are not a law firm. Currency conversions are indicative and dated. We are an independent guide and an affiliate partner of AirHelp – see our affiliate disclosure.

Sources

1. Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air (Montreal, 28 May 1999) – EUR-Lex
2. 2024 Revised Limits of Liability under the Montreal Convention 1999 – ICAO
3. The Carriage by Air (Revision of Limits of Liability under the Montreal Convention) Order 2025 (SI 2025/123) – legislation.gov.uk
4. SDR valuation – currency units per SDR (10 November 2026) – International Monetary Fund
5. Regulation (EC) No 2027/97 on air carrier liability, as amended by Regulation (EC) No 889/2002 – EUR-Lex
6. Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 – UK version, Article 3(7)–(9) – legislation.gov.uk
7. Dawson v Thomson Airways Ltd [2014] EWCA Civ 845 – The National Archives – Find Case Law
8. Judgment C-344/04 IATA and ELFAA (10 January 2006) – Court of Justice of the EU
9. Judgment C-63/09 Walz v Clickair (6 May 2010) – Court of Justice of the EU
10. Lost, delayed or damaged baggage – UK Civil Aviation Authority
11. I had a flight delay or cancellation – can I get compensation? – Which?

We check every rule against the sources above. Spotted an error? Tell us – see our editorial policy.