A substantial hike in compensation to travellers in Indian carriers for loss of lives or of baggage and cargo on international flights is in the offing from June 30 when new rules come into effect.
The new rules follow India's ratification of Montreal Convention on the issue by amending its own laws, an official spokesperson said on Monday.
Currently in case of death of a passenger, the Indian airlines operating to international destinations provide Rs 7,50,000 as compensation. The new rules would raise this up to 100,000 special drawing rights or over $66,500, that is almost Rs 33 lakhs (Rs 3.3 million).
One SDR, which is a basket of global currencies created by the International Monetary Fund, is equivalent to over $0.665.
The hike would be similar in case of compensation for loss, damage or delay in baggage. Industry sources said the limit of compensation for passenger delay is 4,150 SDR per passenger. For delay, loss or destruction of baggage, the carrier's liability is limited to 1,000 SDR per passenger and for cargo it is limited to 17 SDR per kg, they said.
At present, the liability for uninsured baggage is about Rs 450 per kg and if insured, the compensation would be as per the insured value, they said.
With the government ratifying the 1999 Montreal Convention on international air travel and submitting the instrument of accession to the UN body, International Civil Aviation Organisation, the new rules would come into effect from June 30, the spokesperson said.
The ratification of the Convention came after Parliament approved an amendment to the Carriage by Air Act earlier this year, superseding all earlier global instruments on air carrier liability. India became the 91st country to have ratified the Montreal Convention.
The spokesperson said since Indian carriers were operating to most of those countries which had accepted the Convention, they were required to maintain the necessary insurance and pay higher premium. The airlines would be liable for damage occasioned by delay in the carriage of passengers, baggage or cargo.
The Amended Act also says that the liability would be reviewed if the inflation factor exceeds ten per cent, the spokesperson added.
