
Article 1 
  
                  This Regulation implements the relevant provisions of the Montreal Convention in respect of the carriage of passengers and their baggage by air and lays down certain supplementary provisions. It also extends the application of these provisions to carriage by air within  the United Kingdom.
Article 2 

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                     1
                  . For the purpose of this Regulation:  
                     
(a) 'air carrier' shall mean an air transport undertaking with a valid operating licence;  
                           
(b) “UK air carrier” means an air carrier with a valid operating licence granted by the Civil Aviation Authority in accordance with Chapter II of Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 September 2008 on common rules for the operation of air services in the United Kingdom;
(c) 'person entitled to compensation' shall mean a passenger or any person entitled to claim in respect of that passenger, in accordance with applicable law;  
                           
(d) 'baggage', unless otherwise specified, shall mean both checked and unchecked baggage with the meaning of Article 17(4) of the Montreal Convention;  
                           
(e) 'SDR' shall mean a special drawing right as defined by the International Monetary Fund;  
                           
(f) 'Warsaw Convention' shall mean the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Carriage by Air, signed at Warsaw on 12 October 1929, or the Warsaw Convention as amended at The Hague on 28 September 1955 and the Convention supplementary to the Warsaw Convention done at Guadalajara on 18 September 1961;  
                           
(g) 'Montreal Convention' shall mean the 'Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Carriage by Air', signed at Montreal on 28 May 1999.  
                           
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                     2. Concepts contained in this Regulation which are not defined in paragraph 1 shall be equivalent to those used in the Montreal Convention.
Article 3 

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                     1. The liability of a  UK air carrier  in respect of passengers and their baggage shall be governed by all provisions of the Montreal Convention relevant to such liability.  
                     
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Article 3a  
             
  
                  The supplementary sum which, in accordance with Article 22(2) of the Montreal Convention, may be demanded by a  UK air carrier  when a passenger makes a special declaration of interest in delivery of their baggage at destination, shall be based on a tariff which is related to the additional costs involved in transporting and insuring the baggage concerned over and above those for baggage valued at or below the liability limit. The tariff shall be made available to passengers on request.
Article 4 
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Article 5 

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                     1. The  UK air carrier  shall without delay, and in any event not later than fifteen days after the identity of the natural person entitled to compensation has been established, make such advance payments as may be required to meet immediate economic needs on a basis proportional to the hardship suffered.  
                     
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                     2. Without prejudice to paragraph 1, an advance payment shall not be less than the equivalent in  sterling  of 16000 SDRs per passenger in the event of death.  
                     
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                     3. An advance payment shall not constitute recognition of liability and may be offset against any subsequent sums paid on the basis of  UK air carrier  liability, but is not returnable, except in the cases prescribed in Article 20 of the Montreal Convention or where the person who received the advance payment was not the person entitled to compensation.
Article 6 

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                     1. All air carriers shall, when selling carriage by air in the  United Kingdom, ensure that a summary of the main provisions governing liability for passengers and their baggage, including deadlines for filing an action for compensation and the possibility of making a special declaration for baggage, is made available to passengers at all points of sale, including sale by telephone and via the Internet. In order to comply with this information requirement,  UK air carriers  shall use the notice contained in the Annex. Such summary or notice cannot be used as a basis for a claim for compensation, nor to interpret the provisions of this Regulation or the Montreal Convention.  
                     
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                     2. In addition to the information requirements set out in paragraph 1, all air carriers shall in respect of carriage by air provided or purchased in the  United Kingdom, provide each passenger with a written indication of:  
                     
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                              the applicable limit for that flight on the carrier's liability in respect of death or injury, if such a limit exists,  
                           
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                              the applicable limit for that flight on the carrier's liability in respect of destruction, loss of or damage to baggage and a warning that baggage greater in value than this figure should be brought to the airline's attention at check-in or fully insured by the passenger prior to travel;  
                           
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                              the applicable limit for that flight on the carrier's liability for damage occasioned by delay.  
                           
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                     3. In the case of all carriage performed by  UK air carriers, the limits indicated in accordance with the information requirements of paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be those established by this Regulation unless the  UK air carrier  applies higher limits by way of voluntary undertaking. In the case of all carriage performed by  non-UK air carriers, paragraphs 1 and 2 shall apply only in relation to carriage to, from or  within the United Kingdom.
Article 7 
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Article 8 
This Regulation shall enter into force one year after the date of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
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Done at Luxembourg, 9 October 1997.For the Council
The President
M. DELVAUX-STEHRES

ANNEX  
            
  
                        This information notice summarises the liability rules applied by  UK air carriers.  
                     
  
                        There are no financial limits to the liability for passenger injury or death. For damages up to 100000 SDRs (approximate amount in local currency) the air carrier cannot contest claims for compensation. Above that amount, the air carrier can defend itself against a claim by proving that it was not negligent or otherwise at fault.  
                     
  
                        If a passenger is killed or injured, the air carrier must make an advance payment, to cover immediate economic needs, within 15 days from the identification of the person entitled to compensation. In the event of death, this advance payment shall not be less than 16000 SDRs (approximate amount in local currency).  
                     
  
                        In case of passenger delay, the air carrier is liable for damage unless it took all reasonable measures to avoid the damage or it was impossible to take such measures. The liability for passenger delay is limited to 4150 SDRs (approximate amount in local currency).  
                     
  
                        In case of baggage delay, the air carrier is liable for damage unless it took all reasonable measures to avoid the damage or it was impossible to take such measures. The liability for baggage delay is limited to 1000 SDRs (approximate amount in local currency).  
                     
  
                        The air carrier is liable for destruction, loss or damage to baggage up to 1000 SDRs (approximate amount in local currency). In the case of checked baggage, it is liable even if not at fault, unless the baggage was defective. In the case of unchecked baggage, the carrier is liable only if at fault.  
                     
  
                        A passenger can benefit from a higher liability limit by making a special declaration at the latest at check-in and by paying a supplementary fee.  
                     
  
                        If the baggage is damaged, delayed, lost or destroyed, the passenger must write and complain to the air carrier as soon as possible. In the case of damage to checked baggage, the passenger must write and complain within seven days, and in the case of delay within 21 days, in both cases from the date on which the baggage was placed at the passenger's disposal.  
                     
  
                        If the air carrier actually performing the flight is not the same as the contracting air carrier, the passenger has the right to address a complaint or to make a claim for damages against either. If the name or code of an air carrier is indicated on the ticket, that air carrier is the contracting air carrier.  
                     
  
                        Any action in court to claim damages must be brought within two years from the date of arrival of the aircraft, or from the date on which the aircraft ought to have arrived.  
                     
  
                        The basis for the rules described above is the Montreal Convention of 28 May 1999, which is implemented in the  United Kingdom in respect of UK air carriers  by Regulation (EC) No 2027/97 (as amended by Regulation (EC) No 889/2002) ....