Woof justice: Flying dogs count as luggage, EU court rules

Pets are not excluded from the concept of ‘baggage’ for the purposes of an airline’s liability for loss or damage in transit, the EU Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on Thursday in the case of a lost dog.

The case dates back to 2019, when a passenger travelling from Buenos Aires with Spanish carrier Iberia had her pet – too large to travel in the cabin – checked into the hold.

“The dog escaped while being carried to the plane and could not be recovered,” the ECJ noted in a statement accompanying its judgment.

The issue was not the security implications of such apparent carelessness on the part of Argentinian baggage handlers, however, but rather the monetary value of the animal.

A pricey pooch

The passenger claimed the hound was worth €5,000 and demanded commensurate compensation.

Iberia, however, accepted responsibility only to the limit laid down in international law for lost baggage, which under the Montreal Convention of 1999 is capped at the equivalent of about €1,870.

“The Court finds that pets are not excluded from the concept of ‘baggage’”, the ECJ stated with due seriousness.

However, the claimant appears unlikely to get the full €5,000: the Luxembourg-based court also noted the passenger had omitted while checking in to inform the carrier of the animal’s putative worth.

Limited liability

“The Court notes that, in the absence of any special declaration of interest in delivery at destination, the limit on an air carrier’s liability for the loss of baggage includes non-material damage as well as material damage,” the ECJ said.

On the strength of the court ruling, it appears the aggrieved traveller can expect no more than the statutory compensation limit, regardless of the intrinsic or personal value of the lost pet.

The ruling comes, coincidentally, as a row between the European Parliament and governments rumbles on in Brussels over air passenger’s right to carry free luggage into the cabin, as well as the compensation they should expect for delays.

So far, the specific matter of canine baggage has not featured in what is becoming a heated debate in Brussels – but with inter-institutional talks getting under way this week, there is still time.

(rh, cp)