[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 12 (Friday, January 17, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3104-3105]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-00713]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary


Inflation Adjustments to Liability Limits Governed by the 
Montreal Convention Effective December 28, 2019

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department is publishing a notice to inform U.S. and 
certain foreign air carriers of inflation adjustments to liability 
limits of air carriers and foreign air carriers under the Montreal 
Convention.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maegan Johnson, Senior Trial Attorney, 
Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings, U.S. Department of 
Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, 
at maegan.johnson@dot.gov or 202-366-9342.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice informs U.S. and certain foreign 
air carriers of inflation adjustments to liability limits of air 
carriers and foreign air carriers under the Montreal

[[Page 3105]]

Convention (Convention).\1\ The adjustments affect limits on liability 
for damages for passenger death or injury, delay in the carriage of 
passengers, and the loss, delay or damage to baggage or cargo, 
increasing those limits by nearly 14 percent. This increase became 
effective on December 28, 2019. The U.S. and foreign air carriers 
affected by these changes to the Convention include those providing 
international carriage between countries that, like the United States, 
are parties to the Convention, and that provide roundtrip foreign air 
transportation that originates and terminates in the United States.
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    \1\ Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for 
International Carriage by Air, done at Montreal on May 28, 1999.
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    The liability limits are set out in Articles 21 and 22 of the 
Convention. Under Article 24 of the Convention, the International Civil 
Aviation Organization (ICAO) reviews the liability limits in Articles 
21 and 22 every five years in light of inflation that has occurred 
during that period.\2\ In a June 28, 2019, notice, the Secretary 
General of ICAO advised parties to the Convention of revisions required 
pursuant to this review. The revised liability limits effective 
December 28, 2019 (stated in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs)) are as 
follows: \3\
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    \2\ Article 24 of the Convention provides that the limits of 
liability shall be reviewed by ICAO at five-year intervals and 
adjusted ``by reference to an inflation factor which corresponds to 
the accumulated rate of inflation since the previous revision. . . 
.'' During its second review in 2014, ICAO concluded that it was not 
necessary to increase liability limits at the time. Thus, the 
inflation adjustments to the liability limits in Articles 21 and 22 
announced in this Notice are the most recent increases since 2009.
    \3\ The SDR, an international reserve asset, is a defined basket 
of major currencies periodically reviewed by the International 
Monetary Fund to reflect the relative importance of the constituent 
currencies.

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                                   Strict liability                       Destruction, loss,
                                     for death or        Delay in the     damage or delay of  Destruction, loss,
                                   bodily injury to       carriage of         baggage per      damage, or delay
                                      passengers          passengers           passenger           of cargo
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Limit as of Dec. 28, 2019.......  128 821 SDRs......  5 346 SDRs........  1 288 SDRs........  22 SDRs.
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    Pursuant to the terms of Article 24 in the Convention, the 
increased limits become effective six months following the June 28 
notice referred to above, or December 28, 2019. Carriers should, 
therefore, revise their contracts of carriage, tariffs, required 
notices, and practices to conform to the Convention's requirements. 
Failure to implement in a timely manner the revised liability limits 
and required notices would, in the view of the Department's Office of 
Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings, constitute an unfair \4\ or 
deceptive \5\ practice and unfair method of competition in violation of 
49 U.S.C. 41712. This disclosure notice also extends to ticket agents 
and indirect air carriers.\6\
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    \4\ We consider a practice to be unfair if it is likely to cause 
substantial injury to consumers which is not reasonably avoidable by 
consumers themselves and not outweighed by countervailing benefits 
to consumers or to competition.
    \5\ We consider a practice to be deceptive where: (1) A 
representation, omission, or practice misleads or is likely to 
mislead the consumer; (2) a consumer's interpretation of the 
representation, omission, or practice is considered reasonable under 
the circumstances; and (3) the misleading representation, omission, 
or practice is material.
    \6\ Indirect air carrier and foreign indirect air carrier mean a 
person or entity that, as a principal, holds out, sells, or arranges 
air transportation and separately contracts with direct air carriers 
and/or foreign direct air carriers. 14 CFR 295.5.

    Issued this 10th day of January, 2020, in Washington, DC.
Blane A. Workie,
Assistant General Counsel for Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings, 
U.S. Department of Transportation.
[FR Doc. 2020-00713 Filed 1-16-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P


