Programme overview
Introduction:
Aviation law training covering air law conventions, air carrier liability and passenger claims is a 5-day course for airline, airport, civil aviation and in-house legal staff, ending with an Airline Legal Risk Review of a case operation and claim. Organisations lose money and traffic rights when designation clauses are misread, passenger injury and baggage claims are settled outside the convention limits, and aircraft interests or handling contracts leave exposure unallocated. Nominees already advise on or handle aviation contracts and claims at work and apply each convention to case documents. CoreConcept Training Center delivers this aviation law course.
Course Objectives:
- Apply the Chicago Convention principles of airspace sovereignty, aircraft nationality and ICAO standards to an airline or airport legal question
- Analyse bilateral and multilateral air services agreements for traffic rights, designation, ownership and control, capacity and tariff clauses
- Determine air carrier liability for passenger injury or death, baggage, delay and cargo under the Montreal Convention and the Warsaw system, including the limits and the competent jurisdictions
- Assess passenger rights, denied boarding, cancellation and delay claims and prepare a defensible response file
- Review aircraft registration, international interests in mobile equipment, airport use and ground handling contracts for liability and indemnity allocation
- Produce an Airline Legal Risk Review that covers accident, surface damage and aviation security exposure and recommends a dispute resolution route
Target Audience:
- In-house legal and contracts staff who advise airlines, airports and aviation service providers
- Civil aviation administration staff responsible for air transport licensing, traffic rights and air services negotiations
- Airline commercial, alliance and network staff who rely on traffic rights and codeshare permissions
- Passenger claims, customer relations and insurance staff who settle injury, baggage and delay claims
- Airport commercial and ground operations staff who negotiate airport use and ground handling agreements
Course Outline:
Day 1: Foundations of International Air Law and Airspace Sovereignty
- Sources of Air Law From Treaties, Annexes and Custom
- Chicago Convention Airspace Sovereignty and Aircraft Nationality Principles
- ICAO Assembly, Council and Legal Committee Rule-Making Roles
- Scheduled Versus Non-Scheduled Flights and Overflight Permissions
- Current-State Mapping of an Airline's Air Law Exposure
Day 2: Traffic Rights, Air Services Agreements and Carrier Regulation
- Nine Freedoms of the Air and Commercial Traffic Rights
- Bilateral Air Services Agreement Designation and Ownership Clauses
- Capacity, Frequency and Tariff Provisions in Air Services Agreements
- Open Skies and Multilateral Liberalisation Agreement Models Compared
- Codeshare, Wet Lease and Air Operator Licensing Conditions
Day 3: Air Carrier Liability for Passengers, Baggage and Cargo
- Montreal Convention Scope, International Carriage and Successive Carriers
- Two-Tier Liability Model for Passenger Bodily Injury or Death
- Checked Baggage Loss, Damage and Delay Liability Limits
- Warsaw System Instruments Still Governing Some Carriage Routes
- Fifth Jurisdiction, Suit Time Bar and Advance Payments
Day 4: Passenger Rights, Aircraft Interests, Accidents and Aviation Security
- Denied Boarding, Cancellation and Long Delay Compensation Schemes
- Cape Town Convention International Interests and Aircraft Protocol Remedies
- Aircraft Registration, Deregistration Powers and Lease Registration Effects
- Airport Use Conditions and Standard Ground Handling Agreement Indemnities
- Accident Investigation, Rome Convention Surface Damage and Unlawful Interference Treaties
Day 5: Case Study Work and Airline Legal Risk Review
- Case Brief for a Diverted International Flight With Injuries
- Passenger Injury and Baggage Claim Quantification Against Convention Limits
- Traffic Rights and Handling Contract Gap Assessment for Case Route
- Forum Selection, Arbitration and Litigation Route for Aviation Disputes
- Airline Legal Risk Review Completion and Panel Challenge
Skills You Will Gain:
- Air Law Treaty Interpretation
- Traffic Rights Analysis
- Carrier Liability Assessment
- Passenger Claim Handling
- Aircraft Interest Registration Review
- Ground Handling Contract Review
- Aviation Security Law Awareness
- Aviation Dispute Strategy
Why Attend This Course:
- Deliver an Airline Legal Risk Review of a case operation and claim to the general counsel, accountable manager or air transport licensing lead for adoption as a review template
- Decide whether a passenger, baggage or delay claim falls within a convention limit, which forum can hear it and whether to settle or defend
- Avoid lost traffic rights, uncapped claim settlements and unallocated handling or surface damage exposure caused by misread treaty and contract clauses
- Share a convention liability checklist, an air services agreement clause map and a claims response template with legal, commercial and customer relations colleagues
Conclusion:
Back at work, the participant hands the general counsel or accountable manager an Airline Legal Risk Review that sets how the unit reads traffic rights clauses, applies convention limits to passenger and baggage claims, allocates liability in handling and airport contracts and chooses a dispute route. Legal, claims and commercial teams use it when a route is planned, a contract is renewed or a claim arrives. After the first claim or agreement handled with it, the unit should review settlement amounts, response times and any clause that needed renegotiation.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
What should participants know before an aviation law and air law training course?
Participants should already handle airline, airport or aviation administration matters such as contracts, licensing or claims. Reading treaty text is helpful but not essential. Bringing an anonymised claim letter, handling agreement or traffic rights question helps them apply the case work to their own organisation.
How does aviation law differ from a transport and logistics law or aircraft finance course?
Aviation law covers the full international air law framework: sovereignty, traffic rights, passenger and baggage liability, passenger rights, aircraft interests, airports, accidents and security. Transport law courses centre on cargo across all modes, and aircraft finance courses centre on lease pricing and funding economics.
Why does the Montreal Convention matter in aviation law and air carrier liability?
The Montreal Convention sets uniform rules for international carriage by air, including strict liability up to a threshold for passenger injury or death, limits for baggage and delay, and the courts where claims may be brought, so airlines and claimants rely on it to value and resolve claims.
What do participants take back from the aviation law training course?
Participants take back an Airline Legal Risk Review of a case operation and claim, with a convention liability checklist, an air services agreement clause map, a handling contract gap list and a recommended dispute route they can adapt to their own routes and contracts.