What are human rights?

Open letter to the President of Ukraine Kuchma L.D.

The summertime stimulates people to travelling. But the experience shows that the long-awaited trip can turn into a horror movie. These informal instructions were written based on the laws, and we advise you to have them with you when you travel.

We will be talking about luggage and to be more specific, about its absence, damage and delay. 

When you register your luggage make sure that your luggage stickers are put on your ticket. It is especially important if you travel as a part of a group. The employees of the airport make lots of mistakes in such case. 

Remember that the passenger's ticket and the luggage sticker automatically turn into an agreement that sets rights and responsibilities of a passenger and airlines. This agreement sets borders of responsibilities of airlines in case the agreement if violated. 

To avoid problems when receiving the luggage in the destination airport you have to register your luggage only for yourself and do not fall for collective mood of the group to register all luggage for one person, because if the luggage disappears this person will not be able to make the list of things in the bag.   

There are lots of examples of unpleasant situations that happen with your luggage…

Passengers who return home without their luggage have different emotions, of course negative. They can hear something like "What is this scandal about? It's not America! Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow your luggage will be here". It is true that such behavior is characteristic not for all airlines…

All actions with the luggage are done according to the norms of passengers' air-transportation: 'Convention of unified rules about international air-transportation" (Warsaw, 1929), "'Convention of unified rules about international air-transportation" (Montreal, 1999), "Protocol of amendments to Convention of unified rules about international air-transportation signed in Warsaw on October 12, 1929" (Laara, 1955) There is a lot of other instructions that regulate this issue, in Ukraine it is "Air codex of Ukraine".

When you take a flight make sure you have this information with you.

There is the Instructions about luggage which was approved my the ministry of transport of Ukraine # 526 from November 1, 1999 and registered by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine on November 19, 1999 # 799/4092

Special instruction of the airline companies can not limit passenger's rights mentioned in International treaties and the Constitution of Ukraine…

Article 3.1 of this instruction says "the passenger who arrived at the airport and did not receive his registered luggage must inform the airlines. The passenger must have a ticket, flight number and route of the trip"… According to the article 3.2.2. "if the luggage was not found after the local search then in the presence of the passenger the airlines employees must write a statement called PIR" PIR is written for every lost bag and includes signs AHL in the graph "Code", damaged luggage - sign DP in the graph "Code", absence of luggage - sign LLG in the graph "Code"…

Passenger's rights are protected by the laws. In article 3.3 of the Instruction it is said that "the airlines are to cover passenger's expenditures of the first need according to the internal airlines instruction". Article 7.2 of the same instruction clarifies "If the luggage was not delivered in time, the passenger can demand money from the airlines to buy things of the first need. In Ukraine this amount of money is equivalent to USD 50"…

Some employees of airlines deny existence of such instruction. If it happens with you - you can write a complaint to the Ministry of transport of Ukraine. This same instruction's article 2.2 says "employees must know content of this instruction"…

If you luggage has not been found in 21 days, the airlines representative must send you the written letter and ask to send them all necessary documents with the list of lost goods and approximate price of the lost goods. (according to article 3.5.)…

According to the article 7.3.1. "On the territory of Ukraine for every lost kilogram of luggage the airlines must reimburse equivalent of USD 20"…

It is better for you to write all your demands and register it as an incoming letter, make sure you leave a copy of the documents for yourself and have the registration number for your complaint…

What should you do if you do not have the text of this instruction and could not make the company pay you? File a court-suit.

What does it mean for you?

It means that according to the agreement about air-transportation the Airlines Company must reimburse material damage and moral damage caused to you: it includes cost of the lost goods, cost of stationary (if you sent documents to the court by mail), transportation costs, hotel and lost salary (you can ask your accountant and count the part of your salary you lose for each hour of job you miss).

Besides all material damage reimbursements you have a right to get reimbursement for moral damage. Plenum session of the Supreme Court of Ukraine on March 31, 1995 agreed on a decree # 4. Paragraph 3 says that moral damage can be caused be action or inaction. Moral damage can be characterized by  "violation of legal rights, other civil rights, which causes negative consequences"…

Russian commercial workers lived according to the principal "Profit - above all. Dignity - above profit". If you go on the trip - remember that your dignity is above the profit of the airlines…

Elena Volochay