ESSENTIAL INFORMATION
- Recent legal decisions have classified pets as cargo on certain airlines; this means airlines are not liable for compensation if a pet goes missing or is harmed.
- This ruling follows a case involving an Argentine passenger and Iberia Airlines after the passenger’s dog disappeared before a flight from Argentina to Spain in 2019.
- The dog named Mona escaped her carrier while being transported to the aircraft and was never found again.
A recent court decision has redefined how pets are categorized during air travel.
On October 16th, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) persistent that animals traveling in an airplane’s cargo hold should be considered baggage.Consequently, airlines are no longer obligated to provide compensation for lost or injured animals according to reports from UK outlets like The Guardian and CBS News.
This ruling stemmed from a dispute between an Argentine traveler whose dog named Mona went missing at Ezeiza airport in Buenos Aires while en route to Barcelona with Iberia Airlines. reports indicate that this incident occurred back in October of 2019.
Mona was required to travel in the cargo area due to her size and weight restrictions imposed by airline policies. Unluckily, she vanished prior to boarding her Iberia flight.
According to translated court documents reported by The Guardian: “The dog escaped its crate and began running near the plane but coudl not be recovered.”
Witnesses noted that Mona broke free from her crate while being moved towards the aircraft and dashed across the runway where she was pursued by three vehicles. Grisel Ortiz, mona’s owner, stated that she observed this distressing scene unfold from inside the terminal.
At that time of incident reporting by Clarín newspaper indicated that “Mona managed to escape through a breach on one side of her cage.”
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Following these events Ortiz filed a claim seeking €5k ($5.4k) damages against Iberia according CBS News reports which also highlighted six years worth litigation surrounding it.
While acknowledging duty for what transpired Iberia contended any compensation should align with lower limits set forth under international agreements known as Montreal Convention per CBS News report.
The Montreal Convention governs airline liability issues; ultimately ECJ sided favorably towards airline position within its ruling