The Warsaw Convention

The liability of an airline to its passengers is still governed by the "Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules relating to International Carriage by Air" commonly known as the "Warsaw Convention", which was signed in Warsaw on 12 October 1929. Article 17 of the Convention states -

"The carrier is liable for damage sustained in the event of death or wounding of a passenger or any bodily injury suffered by a passenger, if the accident which caused the damage so sustained took place on board the aircraft or in the course of any of the operations of embarking or disembarking".

As will be seen the liability has been referred to in the context of accidents. What the Convention does not do is place liability on the carrier for looking after the health of their passengers.

The passengers are responsible for their own health.