Air India Liability

Last updated: 31 October 2026.

This page summarises what Air India is liable for under its published Conditions of Carriage, how much it pays at most, and the deadlines for making a claim. A "special drawing right" (SDR) is an international accounting unit set by the International Monetary Fund; its rupee value changes daily. Where a country's own law sets a higher limit, the higher limit applies.

What Air India is responsible for

• Death or injury: Air India is liable when the accident happens on board the aircraft, or while boarding or leaving it.
• Checked baggage: liable for destruction, loss or damage if the event took place on the aircraft or while the bag was in Air India's hands.
• Compensation depends on the airline code shown on your ticket for the flight, and on the limits below.

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Limits on compensation

• Above the first figure for death or injury, Air India is not liable if it proves the harm was not due to its own fault, or was caused only by a third party. It may also be freed, wholly or partly, if the injured person or the claimant contributed to the harm.
• For international flights, the baggage limit does not apply if you declared a higher value and paid the fee. In that case Air India pays up to the declared amount, unless it shows that the sum is more than your real interest in delivery. The same applies to the Warsaw and domestic baggage limits.
• The limits can be exceeded only if it is proved that Air India or its staff caused the damage, loss or delay intentionally or recklessly knowing it would probably happen.
• For a delay to a passenger on an international flight, Air India is excused if it shows it took all reasonable steps, or that taking them was impossible.
• Cargo limits do not apply if the shipper declared a value and paid the fee. If the air waybill notice conflicts with the cargo article, the article prevails.

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Baggage that Air India does not cover

• Cabin (unchecked) baggage: Air India is liable only if, under the Montreal Convention, its fault or its staff's fault caused the damage.
• Normal wear and tear, for example broken wheels or base, lost external locks or straps, damage to protruding parts, harm from over-packing, damaged pull-out handles, scratches, torn zips, straps or handles, scuffs, dents, dirt or manufacturing defects, and damage to perishable or fragile contents.
• Items that should not be in checked baggage: money, jewellery, precious metals, silverware, tradable papers and securities, other valuables, business documents, passports and ID documents, and fragile or perishable goods.
• If the weight is not noted on the baggage check, it is assumed the bags are within your free allowance for your class. If you declared a higher value, Air India's liability is that value.

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Other exclusions

• Air India does not pay for harm caused by obeying laws, government rules or orders, or by a passenger's failure to follow them.
• It pays no more than the damage proved, and nothing for indirect, consequential or remote damage.
• It is not liable if a passenger's belongings injure the passenger or damage their own baggage. A passenger whose property harms someone else or Air India must reimburse the loss.
• If a passenger's age, mental condition or physical condition creates a risk, Air India is not liable for illness, injury, disability or death caused or worsened by that condition.
• Any limit or exclusion also protects Air India's agents, employees and representatives, and the owner of any aircraft it uses; the total recoverable from all of them cannot go beyond Air India's limit.

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Deadlines for claims

Damaged checked baggage

Complain in writing as soon as you find the damage, and in any case within 7 days of receiving the bag

Delayed baggage

Complain in writing within 21 days of the day the bag was made available to you

Any right to damages

Lost unless a case is filed within 2 years of arrival at the destination, the date the aircraft should have arrived, or the date the carriage stopped

• Without a timely complaint no claim can be brought, except where Air India itself committed fraud.
• Where a case can be filed: for baggage, in any state party, at the claimant's choice, before the court of Air India's home or main place of business, where the contract was made through a business office, or at the destination. Death claims can also be brought where the passenger lived permanently, if Air India serves that country. If another airline flew the trip, the claim may go to the courts for that airline as well.
• Indian law governs the contract. EU 261 claims that skip the procedure below, and non-consumer claims, go to the courts in New Delhi.

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Claims under EU and UK Regulation 261

• File the claim yourself first, using the form on Air India's flight-disruption page. Air India answers within 30 days, or the time set by law if different.
• If there is no reply in time, or you are unhappy with it, you may use a claims company or take legal advice. Air India deals with a third party only if the claim gives your contact and payment details and proof you authorised them, and it does not pay their fees.
• A legal guardian can claim for someone unable to do so, with documents proving authority. One passenger can claim for others on the same booking, and Air India may ask for proof of their consent.

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When a flight is delayed or cancelled

Air India's refund and compensation rules for disruptions (meals, hotel stays, the INR 5,000 / 7,500 / 10,000 payments, and what counts as an extraordinary circumstance) are set out on the Refunds page. In India, Air India also publishes the Passenger Charter issued by the civil aviation ministry, and a complaints route through its Nodal Officer and Appellate Authority.

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Questions travellers ask us

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Baggage Allowance is an independent information site and is not part of Air India. Check the airline's own pages before you travel.