<snip>
The DOT’s Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings, the nation’s airline cops, received a consumer complaint that El Al’s baggage policy wasn’t in line with the Montreal Convention. Specifically, the airline said it wasn’t liable for,
Loss of or delay in receipt of or damage to fragile or perishable items, medication, money, jewellery (sic) including watches, cameras, electronic equipment including computers, precious metals, silverware, negotiable papers, securities, or other valuables, business documents, or samples or goods intended for trade, passports and other identification documents, which are included in the passenger’s baggage or damage to overpacked or oversized baggage or to minor exterior damage to your suitcase or baggage parts such as wheels, handles, pockets, locks, zippers, attached items or scratches.
In other words, El Al wan’t liable for anything.
<snip>
According to the government, El Al continued to violate the Montreal Convention even after it clarified its rule.
Despite the explicit terms of Article 17, more than a year after the Enforcement Office’s March 2009 guidance, the Enforcement Office found a number of complaints indicating that it was EL AL’s practice to completely deny liability for the loss or pilferage of certain checked items in a passenger’s checked baggage, in contravention of Article 17.
<snip>