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El Al fined for violating baggage-liability rules

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El Al Israel Airlines agreed to pay a civil penalty to the Transportation Department for failing to comply with international baggage-liability rules.

Acting on a complaint by a consumer, the DOT investigated the airline and found that it denied all liability for the loss, damage or delayed delivery of certain items in checked baggage in international transportation, including fragile items, cameras "or other valuables."

The DOT noted that carriers are prohibited from "applying blanket liability exclusions to any class or category of baggage" under international agreements and U.S. policy, a fact that it pointed out in an industry guidance letter to U.S. and foreign airlines in March 2009.

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El Al fined by government for “deceptive” luggage reimbursement rules

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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.

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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.

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