LS passes bill to enhance compensation for air travellers

New Delhi, Dec 2, 2015 (PTI)

 A bill, aimed at enhancing the compensation that airlines must pay to passengers in case of death, injury, lost baggage or even inordinate flight delays, was passed by the Lok Sabha today.
The Carriage by Air (Amendment) Bill, 2015 Bill, which was moved by Civil Aviation Minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju and passed by a voice vote, intends to increase the compensation for death in an air accident to over Rs one crore from almost Rs 89 lakh now.

The Bill will enable the government to revise the liability limits of air carriers in line with the Montreal Convention, which was acceded to by India in May 2009. Once enacted, the measure would result in the Indian carriers paying compensation equivalent to the rates paid by their global counterparts.

Responding to concerns over safety, security and comfort of passengers expressed by members, Raju said "the ultimate thing is that this service sector has to improve. The government is never going to compromise on safety and security."

While winding up a short discussion on the Bill, the Minister did admit that there was a lot of scope to improve airlines services.

He said he was looking into the suggestions made by various stakeholders on the latest draft aviation policy and promised to take appropriate action on that basis.

The Bill intends to raise the liability limit for damage in case of death or bodily injury for each person from 1,00,000 SDR (special drawing rights) to 1,13,100 SDR.

As per the latest exchange rate, the compensation limit rises to over Rs one crore from almost Rs 88.71 lakh at present. One SDR is equivalent to over Rs 90. The currency value of the SDR is based on market exchange rates of a basket of major currencies - US dollar, Euro, Japanese Yen and Pound Sterling.

The liability for delay in carriage for each person is proposed to be raised from 4,150 SDR to 4,694 SDR, while the liability in case of destruction, loss, damage or delay of baggage is proposed to be raised from 1,000 SDR to 1,131 SDR, the bill said.

The liability in case of destruction, loss or delay in relation to the carriage of cargo has been raised from 17 SDR to 19 SDR.

The Union Cabinet had in March cleared amendments to the law governing such liability to enhance the compensation to be paid to fliers by Indian airlines for loss of life or baggage and cargo.

The liability limits are revised once every five years by the UN body International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) on the basis of a determined inflation factor of 13.1 per cent, triggering an adjustment in the limits.

The amendment would also enable the government to revise the limits of liability as and when the revised limits are notified by the ICAO.

With the Bill now passed by the Lower House, the revised limits would become effective once it is passed by the Rajya Sabha and enacted.

Participating in a discussion on the bill, Anto Antony (Cong) said the government should stop the "loot" of passengers by private companies managing airports.

Referring to the airport development fee charged by the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), he said they have collected over Rs 2,000 crore as fee last year against the total expenses of around Rs 1,000 crore.

Antony said the government should take steps to ensure safety of air passengers and come out with guidelines for pricing of air tickets during vacations.

Tapas Mandal (Trinamool Congress) said the main focus of the government should be on "safety, security and comfort" of air travellers which was becoming a popular mode of transport.

He claimed that Air India was losing prime departure slots to private carriers, indicating some kind of "nexus" in allocation of schedule.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudy, who himself is a pilot, intervened in the debate and suggested a detailed discussion on the state of civil aviation in the country.

G Hari (AIADMK) demanded that governemnt should accord priority to passenger safety and stop spraying of 'pesticides' d