EU Court of Justice accepts pets as baggage for air carriers

The EU Court of Justice said Thursday that pets are not exempt from "the concept of baggage" as liability for air carriers.

The court ruled that, for air travel, a pet falls within the concept of "baggage" and compensation for the damage resulting from the loss of a pet is subject to liability rules for baggage.

"Even though the ordinary meaning of the word 'baggage' refers to objects, this alone does not lead to the conclusion that pets fall outside that concept," it stated.

"The concept of 'persons' corresponds to that of 'passengers', with the result that a pet cannot be considered to be a 'passenger.'"

It also said the limit on an air carrier's liability for the loss of baggage includes non-material damage as well as material damage.

"If a passenger considers that that limit is insufficient, a special declaration of interest in delivery at destination allows him or her to increase the limit, subject to approval by the air carrier and to the payment of a supplementary sum if the case so requires," it noted.

The ruling stems from a case involving a dog that died while being transported by an airline in 2019.

During an Oct. 22, 2019, flight from Argentina to Spain, a passenger's dog escaped while being carried to the plane and was not recovered.

The passenger claimed compensation of €5,000 ($5,840) for the non-material damage suffered.