Air Accidents (Hansard, 6 March 2003)

§ Miss McIntosh
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement about the relationship between(a) the Warsaw Convention and (b) EC Regulation 2027/97 (Air carrier liability in the event of accidents) in (i) its present form and (ii) as it will be amended by EC Regulation 889/2002. [R][101149]

§ Mr. Jamieson
Council Regulation (EC) No. 2027/97 was adopted to provide a greater level of consumer protection than that found in the Warsaw Convention. Although the regulation applies in a different way to the Convention, legal advice presented by the European Commission at the time of adoption of the regulation indicated that the proposed Community legislation was compatible with the Warsaw Convention. Council and Parliament Regulation (EC) No. 889/2002 was adopted to align the provisions of Regulation 2027/97 with those of the Montreal Convention, except that the intention of Regulation 889/2002 is that it will apply to Community air carriers in respect of all carriage undertaken. Again, legal advice presented at the time of adoption of the amending regulation was that the proposed Community measure is compatible with both the Warsaw and Montreal Conventions.

§ Miss McIntosh
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the different methods of securing compliance with the amended notice provisions of EC Regulation 2027/97 (air carrier liability in the event of accidents) which will apply after the Montreal Convention has come into force. [R][101150]

§ Mr. Jamieson
In the UK compliance with the information provisions of Council Regulation (EC) No: 2027/97 is secured by the Air Carrier Liability Order 1998. When the date of coming-into-force of Regulation 889/2002 (which is linked to the coming-into-force of the Montreal Convention) is known, the Air Carrier Liability Order will be amended to reflect the amended Community legislation. The sanction of a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale was thought to be more appropriate than withdrawal of the right to fly or an administrative fine.