in-cyprus 17 October 2025
The European Court of Justice has ruled that companion animals can be classified as “luggage” on flights, effectively limiting airline liability in cases of lost pets.
The landmark decision stems from a case involving a passenger travelling with her mother and dog from Buenos Aires to Barcelona on an Iberia Airlines flight. Due to the dog’s size and weight, it had to travel in the cargo hold in a transport cage.
The passenger did not make a special declaration of interest regarding the delivery of the animal when checking in. The dog escaped while being transported to the aircraft and could not be found.
The passenger sought €5,000 compensation for emotional distress caused by the loss of her pet. While Iberia acknowledged responsibility, the airline maintained that compensation should be limited to the standard liability limits for checked baggage.
The Spanish court handling the compensation claim referred the case to the EU Court, asking whether companion animals are excluded from the definition of “luggage” under the Montreal Convention, which governs airline liability.
The EU Court ruled that companion animals are not excluded from the definition of “luggage”. According to the Court’s reasoning, although the common meaning of “luggage” refers to objects, this does not mean that companion animals fall outside this definition.
Under the Montreal Convention, aircraft perform international transport of persons and baggage, apart from cargo. Since the concept of “persons” covers “passengers,” a companion animal cannot be equated with a “passenger.”
Therefore, for air transport purposes, a companion animal falls within the definition of “luggage,” and compensation for damage caused by its loss is subject to the liability regime established for baggage.
The Court noted that without a special declaration of interest for delivery, the airline’s liability limit for lost luggage covers both emotional distress and property damage.
If a passenger considers this limit too low, they can make a special declaration of interest to establish a higher amount, subject to the airline’s agreement and possibly an additional fee.
Despite acknowledging that animal welfare protection constitutes an objective of general interest recognised by the European Union, the Court held that animals can be transported as “luggage” and considered as such for liability purposes, provided their welfare requirements are fully taken into account during transport.
