The liability of an airline for death caused to a passenger on board an aircraft

An airline may be liable in the case of death of a passenger where the death of the passenger took place on board the aircraft or in the course of any of the operations of embarking or disembarking.

Article 17 of the Warsaw Convention states that:

‘The carrier is liable for damage sustained in case of death or bodily injury of a passenger upon condition that the accident which caused the death or injury took place on board the aircraft or in the course of any of the operations of embarking or disembarking.

In Kihungi & Another v Iberia Airlines of Spain SA [1991] eKLR it was held that:

‘The boarding ticket or card is issued only after a passenger is accepted for the flight. So the issuing of the boarding card to the deceased was evidence that he had been accepted for the flight. Death took place after the deceased had come under the control and direction of the Airlines and was engaged actively in operation of embarking...Requirements of Article 17 of the Warsaw Convention having thus been satisfied the carrier, that is the respondent, is liable for damages sustained by the appellants (plaintiffs) on account of the death of the deceased unless the carrier can show that at the time the deceased met his death he was engaged in operations other than those of embarking. So long as a passenger is on board the aircraft or during the time when his movements are under the control of the carrier, then if an accident occurs during that time, the burden of proof shifts from the plaintiff to the defendant, when it is the latter’s turn to prove that the injury or death consequent upon the accident did not occur as a result of a breach of duty by the carrier.’