Міжнародно-правове регулювання відповідальності авіаперевізника за зареєстрований багаж пасажира

The development of budget airlines has greatly changed the image of travelers, who no longer need to carry multiple suitcases. The decline in airfare prices has been accompanied by a shift to more minimalist travel. But baggage does not disappear from the contract of carriage. The International Air Telecommunications Company (hereinafter referred to as SITA) has highlighted in a statistical study that airlines lost 36.1 million pieces of baggage in 2023, of which 25 million were lost at European airports. The losses are estimated at 2.5 billion euros. The issues of transportation, storage and security of baggage are regulated by international legal mechanisms, the main sources of which are the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air of 28 May 1999. (hereinafter referred to as the Montreal Convention), implemented in Regulation (EC) No 2027/97 (as amended by Regulation (EC) No 889/2002) and in the national legislation of the EU Member States. In the field of air passenger transport, two types of baggage are distinguished: checked baggage (delivered by the airline to the baggage hold) and hand baggage (carried on board with the passenger). This division of baggage was first normatively defined by the provisions of the Warsaw Convention of 1929 for the unification of certain rules relating to international carriage by air of 1929 (hereinafter referred to as the Warsaw Convention). The Montreal Convention accepts this dichotomy, which leads to two different liability regimes. Regulation 881/2002 amending Regulation 2027/97 on air carrier liability in the event of accidents provides in Article 3 §1 that the liability of air carriers for passengers and their baggage shall be governed by all the provisions of the Montreal Convention relating to such liability. The International Air Transport Association (hereinafter referred to as IATA) has developed a Passenger Handling Manual which contains resolutions and recommended practices for the handling of baggage, such as the requirement to indicate the cost of additional services. These resolutions are binding on IATA member airlines. The International Civil Aviation Organization (hereinafter referred to as ICAO) has established a list of dangerous goods, which is contained in Annex 18 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (1944 Chicago Convention) and in the Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air. IATA has also developed rules for the Dangerous Goods Code, which aims to transform ICAO rules into practical guidance for airline procedures. All of these rules are contained in the General Conditions of Carriage, which are used by all air carriers.