Alberta Court says Air Cargo Liability Limits can be Broken

Cargo airlines operating in Alberta may soon find themselves training their front-line staff to ask more questions when dealing with individual consumers. Last month, the Provincial Court of Alberta released a decision in which it held that the Montreal Convention does not dispense with the notice requirements applicable at common law, extending the reading the same court took seven years earlier in a case involving a baggage claim to cases involving air cargo. For airlines, this means that limits on carrier liability under the Montreal Convention can be broken if their staff fail to bring the Montreal Convention limits to a non-commercial shipper's attention. What is more, a simple verbal declaration of a shipment value that exceeds the Montreal Convention coverage may now be enough to circumvent the limits that were previously considered unbreakable.