Carriage by Air Act 1961

[X1 Section 3.—Air Waybill U.K.

Editorial Information

X1 Schedule 1, containing the provisions of the Warsaw Convention as amended at the Hague in 1955 and by Protocols No. 3 and No. 4 signed at Montreal in 1975, substituted (prosp.) with saving for Schedule 1 as originally enacted, containing the provisions of the Warsaw Convention with the amendments made in it by the Hague Protocol, by Carriage by Air and Road Act 1979 (c. 28, SIF 9), ss. 1(1)(3), 6(2), 7(2)

Article 5 U.K.

(1) U.K. Every carrier of cargo has the right to require the consignor to make out and hand over to him a document called an “air waybill”; every consignor has the right to require the carrier to accept this document.

(2) U.K. The absence, irregularity or loss of this document does not affect the existence or the validity of the contract of carriage which shall, subject to the provisions of Article 9, be none the less governed by the rules of this Convention.

Article 6 U.K.

(1) U.K. The air waybill shall be made out by the consignor in three original parts and be handed over with the cargo.

(2) U.K. The first part shall be marked “for the carrier,” and shall be signed by the consignor. The second part shall be marked “for the consignee”; it shall be signed by the consignor and by the carrier and shall accompany the cargo. The third part shall be signed by the carrier and handed by him to the consignor after the cargo has been accepted.

(3) U.K. The carrier shall sign prior to the loading of the cargo on board the aircraft.

(4) U.K. The signature of the carrier may be stamped; that of the consignor may be printed or stamped.

(5) U.K. If, at the request of the consignor, the carrier makes out the air waybill, he shall be deemed, subject to proof to the contrary, to have done so on behalf of the consignor.

Article 7 U.K.

The carrier of cargo has the right to require the consignor to make out separate waybills when there is more than one package.

Article 8 U.K.

The air waybill shall contain:

(a) an indication of the places of departure and destination;

(b) if the places of departure and destination are within the territory of a single High Contracting Party, one or more agreed stopping places being within the territory of another State, an indication of at least one such stopping place;

(c) a notice to the consignor to the effect that, if the carriage involves an ultimate destination or stop in a country other than the country of departure, the Warsaw Convention may be applicable and that the Convention governs and in most cases limits the liability of carriers in respect of loss of or damage to cargo.

Article 9 U.K.

If, with the consent of the carrier, cargo is loaded on board the aircraft without an air waybill having been made out, or if the air waybill does not include the notice required by Article 8, paragraph (c), the carrier shall not be entitled to avail himself of the provisions of Article 22, paragraph (2).

Article 10 U.K.

(1) U.K. The consignor is responsible for the correctness of the particulars and statements relating to the cargo which he inserts in the air waybill.

(2) U.K. The consignor shall indemnify the carrier against all damage suffered by him, or by any other person to whom the carrier is liable, by reason of the irregularity, incorrectness or incompleteness of the particulars and statements furnished by the consignor.

Article 11 U.K.

(1) U.K. The air waybill isprima facieevidence of the conclusion of the contract, of the receipt of the cargo and of the conditions of carriage.

(2) U.K. The statements in the air waybill relating to the weight, dimensions and packing of the cargo, as well as those relating to the number of packages, are prima facie evidence of the facts stated; those relating to the quantity, volume and condition of the cargo do not constitute evidence against the carrier except so far as they both have been, and are stated in the air waybill to have been, checked by him in the presence of the consignor, or relate to the apparent condition of the cargo.

Article 12 U.K.

(1) U.K. Subject to his liability to carry out all his obligations under the contract of carriage, the consignor has the right to dispose of the cargo by withdrawing it at the aerodrome of departure or destination, or by stopping it in the course of the journey on any landing, or by calling for it to be delivered at the place of destination or in the course of the journey to a person other than the consignee named in the air waybill, or by requiring it to be returned to the aerodrome of departure. He must not exercise this right of disposition in such a way as to prejudice the carrier or other consignors and he must repay any expenses occasioned by the exercise of this right.

(2) U.K. If it is impossible to carry out the orders of the consignor the carrier must so inform him forthwith.

(3) U.K. If the carrier obeys the orders of the consignor for the disposition of the cargo without requiring the production of the part of the air waybill delivered to the latter, he will be liable, without prejudice to his right of recovery from the consignor, for any damage which may be caused thereby to any person who is lawfully in possession of that part of the air waybill.

(4) U.K. The right conferred on the consignor ceases at the moment when that of the consignee begins in accordance with Article 13. Nevertheless, if the consignee declines to accept the waybill or the cargo, or if he cannot be communicated with, the consignor resumes his right of disposition.

Article 13 U.K.

(1) U.K. Except in the circumstances set out in the preceding Article, the consignee is entitled, on arrival of the cargo at the place of destination, to require the carrier to hand over to him the air waybill and to deliver the cargo to him, on payment of the charges due and on complying with the conditions of carriage set out in the air waybill.

(2) U.K. Unless it is otherwise agreed, it is the duty of the carrier to give notice to the consignee as soon as the cargo arrives.

(3) U.K. If the carrier admits the loss of the cargo, or if the cargo has not arrived at the expiration of seven days after the date on which it ought to have arrived, the consignee is entitled to put into force against the carrier the rights which flow from the contract of carriage.

Article 14 U.K.

The consignor and the consignee can respectively enforce all the rights given them by Articles 12 and 13, each in his own name, whether he is acting in his own interest or in the interest of another, provided that he carries out the obligations imposed by the contract.

Article 15 U.K.

(1) U.K. Articles 12, 13 and 14 do not effect either the relations of the consignor or the consignee with each other or the mutual relations of third parties whose rights are derived either from the consignor or from the consignee.

(2) U.K. The provisions of Articles 12, 13 and 14 can only be varied by express provision in the air waybill.

(3) U.K. Nothing in this Convention prevents the issue of a negotiable air waybill.

Article 16 U.K.

(1) U.K. The consignor must furnish such information and attach to the air waybill such documents as are necessary to meet the formalities of customs, octroi or police before the cargo can be delivered to the consignee. The consignor is liable to the carrier for any damage occasioned by the absence, insufficiency or irregularity of any such information or documents, unless the damage is due to the fault of the carrier or his servants or agents.

(2) U.K. The carrier is under no obligation to enquire into the correctness or sufficiency of such information or documents.]