Airlines are liable if they provide inadequate first aid to passengers injured during a flight, Europe’s top court said on Thursday. A passenger scalded on an Austrian Airlines flight when a jug of hot coffee fell over him took the case to Austria’s Supreme Court. He sought compensation from the airline, arguing his burns were aggravated by inadequate first aid administered on board.
Austria’s Supreme Court sought guidance from the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on whether first aid should be regarded as part of the accident under the Montreal Convention covering civilian air travel.
“The strict liability of airlines under the Montreal Convention extends to inadequate first aid administered on board an aircraft,” the CJEU judges said. “It cannot be disputed that there is a causal link between the jug of coffee falling and the aggravation of the bodily injuries caused by it on account of inadequate first aid being administered.”