Waiver of Warsaw Convention Liability Limits and Defenses

PART 203—WAIVER OF WARSAW CONVENTION LIABILITY LIMITS AND DEFENSES

§ 203.1 Scope.

This part requires that certain U.S. and foreign direct air carriers waive the passenger liability limits and certain carrier defenses in the Warsaw Convention in accordance with the provisions of Agreement 18900, dated May 13, 1966, and provides that acceptance of authority for, or operations by the carrier in, air transportation shall be considered to act as such a waiver by that carrier.

§ 203.2 Applicability.

This part applies to all direct U.S. and foreign direct air carriers, except for air taxi operators as defined in part 298 of this chapter that (a) are not commuter air carriers, (b) do not participate in interline agreements, and (c) do not engage in foreign air transportation.

§ 203.3 Filing requirements for adherence to Montreal Convention.

All direct U.S. and foreign air carriers shall have and maintain in effect and on file in the Department's Docket Operations Office (DOT-OST-1995-236) on OST Form 4523 a signed counterpart to Agreement 18900, an agreement relating to liability limitations of the Warsaw Convention and Hague Protocol, (the Montreal Agreement), dated May 13, 1966, and/or a signed counterpart of any amendment or replacement to such Agreement that may be approved by the Department and to which the air carrier or foreign air carrier becomes a party. U.S. air taxi operators registering under part 298 of this chapter and Canadian charter air taxi operators registering under part 294 of this chapter may comply with this requirement by filing completed OST Forms 4507 and 4523, respectively, in accordance with the provisions of those parts.

§ 203.4 Montreal Agreement as part of airline-passenger contract and conditions of carriage.

(a) As required by the Montreal Agreement, carriers that are otherwise generally required to file tariffs shall file with the Department's Pricing and Multilateral Affairs Division a tariff that includes the provisions of the counterpart to Agreement 18900.

(b) As further required by that Agreement, each participating carrier shall include the Agreement's terms as part of its conditions of carriage. The participating carrier shall give each of its passengers the notice required by the Montreal Agreement as provided in § 221.105 of this chapter.

(c) Participation in the Montreal Agreement, whether by signing the Agreement, filing a signed counterpart to it under § 203.3, or by operation of law under § 203.5, shall constitute a special agreement between the carrier and its passengers as a condition of carriage that a liability limit of not less than $75,000 (U.S.) shall apply under Article 22(1) of the Warsaw Convention for passenger injury and death. Such participation also constitutes a waiver of the defense under Article 20(1) of the Convention that the carrier was not negligent.

§ 203.5 Compliance as condition on operations in air transportation.

It shall be a condition on the authority of all direct U.S. and foreign carriers to operate in air transportation that they have and maintain in effect and on file with the Department a signed counterpart of Agreement 18900, and a tariff (for those carriers otherwise generally required to file tariffs) that includes its provisions, as required by this subpart. Notwithstanding any failure to file that counterpart and such tariff, any such air carrier or foreign air carrier issued license authority (including exemptions) by the Department or operating in air transportation shall be deemed to have agreed to the provisions of Agreement 18900 as fully as if that air carrier or foreign air carrier had in fact filed a properly executed counterpart to that Agreement and tariff.