The Montreal Convention (Aviation Liability Framework)

Category: legal

A treaty establishing a multi-tiered strict liability framework for international airline carriers regarding passenger injury or cargo damage.

The Montreal Convention governs all international commercial flights. Under Article 17, airlines are held strictly liable for passenger injuries or fatalities resulting from an \"accident\" taking place onboard or during boarding/disembarking, up to a set cap measured in Special Drawing Rights (SDR)—currently valued around 128,000 SDR (~$170,000 USD). To recover damages beyond this initial strict liability tier, the airline must fail to prove they were entirely free from fault or negligence.

Common Examples

• Because the severe turbulence incident occurred on a flight departing from Miami to London, the carrier's liability profile was strictly governed by the Montreal Convention framework.
• The aviation litigation team calculated the SDR conversion values to establish the baseline parameters for the international flight claim settlement conference.