In a judgment handed down on Thursday 6 July (Case C-510/21), the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has clarified the application of the Montreal Convention of May 1999 in the event of an accident on board a commercial aircraft.
In Austria, a passenger on a flight operated by Austrian Airlines is claiming damages from the airline after being scalded by a coffee pot that contained hot coffee. Inadequate first aid provided on board aggravated the burns.
Unlike the passenger, Austrian Airlines is of the opinion that the Montreal Convention of May 1999 – which unifies certain rules relating to international air transport – is applicable and therefore that the plaintiff's action was brought after the expiry of the two-year period provided for in the Convention.
Referred by the Austrian Supreme Court, the CJEU ruled in favour of the airline. Given the spatial and temporal continuity between the falling coffee pot and the first aid given to the passenger who had been scalded, it was of the opinion that there was a causal link between the fall and the aggravation of the bodily harm caused, due to the administration of inadequate first aid. In its view, this set of intrinsically linked events constitutes a single “accident” within the meaning of the Montreal Convention.
The Court observes that the Montreal Convention provides for a system of strict liability for airlines in order to protect passengers, while ensuring a fair balance with the interests of the airlines. It is of the opinion that the fact that Austrian Airlines failed in its duty of care and diligence does not call these findings into question. And in conclusion: for the purposes of classification as an “accident”, it is sufficient that the event causing the bodily injury to a passenger occurred on board a commercial aircraft.
See the Court’s judgment: https://aeur.eu/f/7y6 (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)