Air Travel Accident Claims — Montreal Convention Compensation (UK Guide)
Accidents on board an aircraft or at the airport are relatively rare, but they do happen — turbulence injuries, luggage falling from overhead lockers, hot drinks spilled by cabin crew, falls boarding or disembarking, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) linked to long-haul flights, and injuries during special assistance for disabled or less mobile passengers.
These claims sit outside the ordinary UK personal injury framework. Accidents on board the aircraft, or in the course of embarking or disembarking, are governed by the Montreal Convention 1999, which imposes a form of strict liability on the airline and, critically, a two-year time limit — a full year shorter than the standard three-year UK personal injury deadline, with none of the usual court discretion to extend it.
Accidents in the airport terminal itself — before boarding or after leaving the aircraft — fall outside the Convention entirely and are instead handled under ordinary UK occupiers’ liability and negligence principles against the airport operator. Because the Montreal Convention deadline is so short and so strict, acting quickly substantially affects whether a claim can succeed at all.
In this guide
- Immediate Steps After an Accident On Board or At the Airport
- The Legal Framework: Montreal Convention 1999
- Airport Terminal Accidents — A Different Framework
- Time Limits — Critical and Often Overlooked
- Common Air Travel Accident Categories
- What Compensation Could You Receive?
- No Win No Fee Air Travel Accident Claims
- Common Questions About Air Travel Accident Claims
- Related Guides
- Our Partner's Fees Explained
- Check If You Could Claim Compensation For Your Injury
This guide walks through what to do after an accident on a flight or at the airport, which legal framework applies to your situation, and how to start a compensation claim.
Immediate Steps After an Accident On Board or At the Airport
Report the Incident Immediately
- On board, tell cabin crew straight away — most airlines complete a written accident/incident report
- Insist on a copy of the report, or note the names of the crew members who dealt with you
- At the airport, report to airline ground staff or the airport information desk
- Get a reference number for the report wherever possible
- Ask for the aircraft registration, flight number, and date — needed to identify the correct carrier
Get Medical Attention
- Accept on-board first aid if offered; serious incidents can prompt a diversion or priority medical care on landing
- See a doctor or attend A&E promptly on arrival, even for injuries that seem minor at first
- Get written diagnoses and keep all medical records
- Photograph injuries as they develop over the following days
Preserve Evidence
- Photograph the hazard — the spilled drink, the loose step, the wet floor, the fallen bag
- Photograph the wider context and, where relevant, warning signs or the absence of them
- Get witness details from other passengers — name, seat number, home contact details
- Keep your boarding pass, ticket, baggage tags, and any correspondence with the airline
- For terminal accidents, ask the airport operator to preserve CCTV — most systems only retain footage for a matter of weeks
The Legal Framework: Montreal Convention 1999
What the Convention Covers
The Montreal Convention 1999 governs liability for accidents that happen on board an aircraft or in the course of embarking or disembarking. It applies to international carriage by air and, in the UK, has also been extended to domestic flights. The Convention was incorporated into UK law by the Carriage by Air Act 1961, as subsequently amended to reflect the 1999 update.
What Counts as an “Accident”
Under the Convention, an accident is generally an unexpected or unusual event that is external to the passenger — not simply the normal, expected experience of flying. Examples that typically qualify include:
- A hot drink or food spilled by a member of cabin crew
- Luggage falling from an overhead locker
- A collision with a service or drinks trolley
- A fall on aircraft steps, an airbridge, or during boarding or disembarking
- Sudden, unexpected turbulence causing injury (as opposed to routine, briefed turbulence with the seatbelt sign correctly observed)
Strict Liability and the Compensation Limit
The Convention creates a two-tier system. For proven damages up to a set limit — 151,880 Special Drawing Rights (SDR) following the December 2024 revision, roughly £120,000 — the airline is strictly liable and does not need to be shown to have been negligent.
Above that threshold, the airline remains liable for the full amount unless it can prove the damage was not due to its own negligence or wrongful act, or was solely caused by a third party.
There is no overall cap on damages — only a shift in who has to prove what once the threshold is passed.
Airport Terminal Accidents — A Different Framework
Accidents that happen purely within the airport terminal — before check-in, in departures before boarding starts, or after leaving the aircraft and clearing arrivals — generally fall outside the Montreal Convention, which only covers accidents on board or in the course of embarking or disembarking.
These claims instead proceed under ordinary UK negligence and occupiers’ liability principles (the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957) against whichever party controlled the area — commonly the airport operator, a ground handling agent, or a retail concession.
The Civil Aviation Authority is the enforcement body for several air passenger consumer protections, though it does not itself investigate personal injury claims. Critically, the standard three-year UK personal injury time limit applies to terminal accidents — not the shorter two-year Montreal Convention deadline.
- Common terminal scenarios: slips on concourse floors, escalator and travelator incidents, luggage trolley accidents
- Accidents during airport-arranged special assistance (wheelchair transfers, buggy transport) can fall on either side of the line depending on exactly where they occur
- Identifying who was actually responsible for the specific area is often the first task for a specialist solicitor
Time Limits — Critical and Often Overlooked
The time limit that applies depends entirely on where the accident happened:
- On board, or embarking/disembarking: two years from the date of arrival at the destination, or the date the aircraft ought to have arrived, under Article 35 of the Montreal Convention
- This two-year limit is strict — unlike the standard UK three-year limit, there is no equivalent to the section 33 Limitation Act 1980 discretion to extend it
- In the airport terminal: the standard three-year UK personal injury time limit applies
- For children, the clock does not start running until their 18th birthday under either framework
Because the Montreal Convention deadline is both shorter and far less flexible than ordinary UK claims, anyone injured on board a flight should engage a specialist solicitor promptly rather than waiting to see how symptoms develop. See our personal injury time limits guide for how the standard three-year rule works.
Common Air Travel Accident Categories
Turbulence Injuries
- Most successful claims involve sudden, severe turbulence that was not adequately warned of, or where the seatbelt sign was not illuminated in time
- Routine, briefed turbulence with the seatbelt sign correctly observed rarely gives rise to a successful claim
Falling Luggage from Overhead Lockers
- A common cause of head, neck, and shoulder injuries
- Overloaded lockers or lockers that fail to latch properly are frequently the underlying cause
Service Trolley and Hot Drink Injuries
- Scalding injuries from spilled hot drinks are among the most straightforward Montreal Convention claims
- Trolley collisions in the aisle during turbulence or crowded service runs
Boarding and Disembarking Falls
- Falls on aircraft steps, especially in wet or icy conditions
- Gaps or steps between the airbridge and the aircraft door
- These are treated as “in the course of embarking or disembarking” and fall under the Convention, not ordinary terminal rules
Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)
- Associated with prolonged immobility on long-haul flights
- Causation is often contested and requires specialist medical evidence linking the flight to the clot
- Whether DVT itself qualifies as an “accident” under the Convention has been tested in the courts and remains a complex, fact-specific area
Special Assistance Failures
- Injuries during wheelchair transfers, boarding chairs, or ambulift use
- May fall under the Convention (on board or during embarking/disembarking) or under terminal negligence rules, depending on exactly where the failure occurred
- Airlines and airports both have specific duties to disabled and less mobile passengers
What Compensation Could You Receive?
Compensation broadly follows the Judicial College Guidelines used across UK personal injury claims, adjusted for the specific circumstances of air travel accidents:
- Minor injuries (bruising, minor sprains, short-lived scalding) — typically £1,500–£5,000
- Moderate injuries (soft tissue injury, minor fractures, moderate burns) — typically £5,000–£25,000
- Significant injuries (substantial fractures, DVT with lasting effects) — typically £25,000–£75,000
- Severe injuries (spinal injury, serious head injury, catastrophic turbulence injury) — typically £75,000 upwards, potentially well beyond the Convention’s strict-liability threshold
Special damages can include lost earnings, the cost of a spoiled holiday, treatment costs, and travel insurance interplay — travel insurance and a Montreal Convention compensation claim are separate and can run alongside each other.
No Win No Fee Air Travel Accident Claims
Air travel accident claims — whether under the Montreal Convention or ordinary UK negligence principles for a terminal accident — commonly run on no win no fee Conditional Fee Agreements. The success fee, capped under LASPO 2012 at 25 per cent of general damages and past losses (future losses excluded), is deducted from compensation, and After-the-Event insurance typically protects against adverse costs. See our how no win no fee works guide.
Common Questions About Air Travel Accident Claims
I was injured by turbulence. Can I claim?
Often yes, if the turbulence was sudden and unwarned, or the seatbelt sign was not used appropriately. Routine turbulence encountered with the seatbelt sign correctly observed is far less likely to succeed, since the airline can point to normal, expected operation of the aircraft rather than an “accident” in the Convention sense.
I fell on the aircraft steps at the airport. Can I claim?
Usually yes, and usually under the Montreal Convention rather than ordinary terminal negligence rules, because boarding and disembarking are treated as part of the flight for these purposes. That means the two-year time limit applies, not the standard three years — engaging a solicitor promptly matters more than usual.
I developed DVT after a long-haul flight. Can I claim?
Potentially, but these are some of the more complex air travel claims. Causation needs to be established with specialist medical evidence linking the flight conditions to the clot, and whether DVT itself amounts to an “accident” under the Convention has been contested in the courts. A free initial consultation with a specialist solicitor is the right starting point.
I was dropped or injured during wheelchair assistance boarding. Can I claim?
Often yes. Both airlines and airport operators owe specific duties to disabled and less mobile passengers. Depending on exactly where the incident happened — on the jet bridge, on the aircraft, or in the terminal — the claim may fall under the Montreal Convention or under ordinary UK negligence principles, which affects which time limit applies.
Does this affect my flight delay compensation claim?
No — they are entirely separate. Flight delay and cancellation compensation is a fixed, no-fault payment under UK261 and is unrelated to a personal injury claim for an accident on board or at the airport. If you have both a delay and an injury from the same trip, see our flight delay compensation guide for the delay claim, and pursue the injury claim separately under the framework set out above.
What if I was flying with a foreign airline?
The Montreal Convention applies regardless of the airline’s nationality, provided the flight is “international carriage” as the Convention defines it (broadly, flights between Convention states, or with a stop in another Convention state). UK courts can still have jurisdiction to hear the claim in many circumstances, particularly where the ticket was bought in the UK or the flight departed from or arrived in the UK — a specialist solicitor will confirm jurisdiction at the outset.
Related Guides
Package Holiday Accident Claims
What to Do After an Accident on Holiday
Personal Injury Claim Time Limits UK
Flight Delay Compensation Claims
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