The air passenger transport contract and the liability of the carrier

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to make a modern, updated and legal analysis on the subject of the contract of carriage of passengers by air, as well as the legal regime of civil liability derived for the air carrier, in its double aspect: national and international. The intention is to create with it a completer and more detailed panorama about the relationship that exists or that could exist between an operator of the air transport service -the airlines, carriers and others- and those who contract and make use of it -the passengers, consumers or users-. To this end, we will first study the development of contracts in general, their constituent elements and, subsequently, we will interrelate the subject with that of passenger air transportation contracts, as well as the specific liability regime for breach of contract or for causes beyond the parties’ control (fortuitous event, force majeure) from which damages are derived. Until then, we start from the fact that, in modern times, a series of important factors have begun to appear that have triggered the emergence of a new paradigm in the existing legislation on air transport of passengers, which must deal with the integral reparation of damages.