A pet travelling on a plane is considered "baggage," the European Court of Justice ruled on Thursday in a dispute between a Spanish airline and a female passenger who lost her dog.
A few years ago, the woman wanted to fly with her mother and dog from Buenos Aires to Barcelona, via the Iberia airline. As the animal was too large, it had to be placed in a transport box in the hold. However, during transport to the plane, the animal bolted and was never found.
The woman claimed €5,000 in non-pecuniary damages. Iberia acknowledged its fault and was willing to compensate for the damage, but considered the amount too high.
According to the airline, the amount must remain within the limits for checked baggage, which is a maximum of just over €1,500.
Not included
At the request of a Spanish court, the European Court of Justice then had to examine whether a pet can be considered the same as a passenger, and found that it could not. To reach this conclusion, the Court referred to the Montreal Convention.
While it does stipulate that baggage applies to articles, "this does not allow the conclusion that pets are not included."
The passenger could have claimed higher compensation, but she would have had to have pointed out the special importance of the baggage beforehand.
