§ Mr. Ian Lloydasked the Minister of Aviation (1) what level of compensation to the dependants of those killed 189W in air accidents will now be paid by the British Overseas Airways Corporation, British European Airways, and other British registered airline operators;
(2) whether the level of compensation paid to the dependants of those killed in air accidents by the British Overseas Airways Corporation, British European Airways, and other British airline operators, will be higher in the case of accidents occurring in or near the United States of America.
(3) whether he will introduce legislation to make it compulsory for airlines which solicit passenger business in the United Kingdom and which do not observe the present international agreement to state clearly on passenger tickets what limits they observe and what territorial restrictions if any, are imposed an them.
§ Mr. SnowThere is no fixed level of compensation. The Carriage by Air Act, 1932, gave effect in the United Kingdom to the Warsaw Convention of 1929 which limited the liability of the carrier, in the absence of wilful misconduct, to some £3,000 per passenger in respect of international carriage as defined in the Convention: the Carriage by Air (Non-international) (United Kingdom) Order, 1952, made under the provisions of that Act, applied the same limit of liability to domestic and all other types of carriage not covered by the Convention. Within this limit it is necessary for the victim or his dependants to establish the amount of damage sustained.
The Carriage by Air Act, 1961, enables the Government to ratify The Hague Protocol of 1955 which amended the Warsaw Convention and raised the limit of liability to some £6,000 per passenger in respect of international carriage. It is the Government's intention to proceed to ratification of the Protocol as soon as practical and at the same time to make a new Order under the provisions of the 1961 Act establishing the limits applicable to types of carriage not covered by the Convention as amended by the Protocol.
The desirablity of a further increase in the internationally agreed limits of liability is at present under 190W consideration. In the meanwhile B.O.A.C. and B.E.A., together with a number of principal airlines of the world, have made a voluntary interim arrangement whereby in the case of journeys beginning or ending in the United States, or having an agreed stopping place there, the limit of liability will be raised to a maximum of $58,000 (about £20,500) to which legal costs may be added. Passengers affected by this arrangement will be informed of it at the time when their ticket is issued to them. It may be on the ticket, or on the ticket envelope, or on a piece of paper attached to the ticket or ticket envelope.