§ 37. Mr. Charles R. Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will list the maximum levels of compensation liability accepted by all airline companies in respect of dependants of those who have lost their lives or who are injured in air crashes involving passengers to and from Great Britain from overseas destinations.
§ Mr. EyreThe Warsaw Convention of 1929 and the amending Hague Protocol of 1955 specify a maximum level of compensation—equivalent to about £9,500 but permit airlines to adopt higher limits if they wish. I list below those countries whose airlines are known to have done so, and the limits which I understand they currently apply.
(1) Countries which quote a special contract rate of US$58,000 (equal to 45,600 Special Drawing Rights).
- Air Afrique Countries
- Australia
- Belgium
- Burma
- Canada
- El Salvador
- Finland
- France
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Jordan
- Lebanon
- Luxembourg
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Panama
- Singapore
- Spain
- Thailand
- United Kingdom
US$58,000=45,600 SDRs£stg=0.539SDRs(2) Countries which quote a special contract rate of £25,000 (equal to 46,400 SDRs)
- Brunei
- Gibraltar
- Hong Kong
(3) Countries which quote a special contract rate in their own currencies
- Austria—Sch.1.1m (equal to SDRs 62,400)
- Denmark—Kr.375,000 (equal to SDRs 49,000)
- Federal Republic of Germany—DM.150,000 (equal to SDRs 60,200)
- Norway—Kr.333,000 (equal to SDRs 50,500)
- Sweden—Kr.270,000 (equal to SDRs 48,600)
- Switzerland—Fr.170,000 (equal to SDRs 75,500)
(4) The United Kingdom will be increasing its special contract limit to 100,000 SDRs as from 1 April 1981 and it is believed that France will be increasing its limit to 80,000 SDRs from the same date. Other European countries are understood to be thinking of similar increases over the next few months.All figures have been rounded to a convenient approximation in view of the day to day variations due to currency fluctuations.