MH370: Families advised to file claims under Montreal Convention before March 8, 2016

Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai in a statement today said that Article 35 of the 1999 Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air (Montreal Convention) warrants the right to damages against MAS shall be extinguished if an action is not brought within a period of two years from the date on which the aircraft ought to have arrived in Beijing, that is on 8 March 2014.

Therefore, as previously stated by MAS, the limitation period under the Montreal Convention ends on 8 March 2016.

This right to claim damages under the Montreal Convention is available to the families and next-of-kin of the passengers of MH370.

Below is the media statement issued by Liow:

‘It has undoubtedly been a difficult and trying twenty-four months for the families and loved ones of the passengers and crew of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.

As we approach the second anniversary of this unfortunate event, I have been informed by Malaysia Airlines System Berhad (MAS) that less than 60 compensation claims have been settled in relation to the 227 passengers and 12 crew on board the flight, whereas to date, 169 families have commenced final compensation process.

With regards to the passengers of MH370, according to Article 35 of the 1999 Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air (Montreal Convention), the right to damages against MAS shall be extinguished if an action is not brought within a period of two years from the date on which the aircraft ought to have arrived in Beijing, that is on 8 March 2014.

Therefore, as previously stated by MAS, the limitation period under the Montreal Convention ends on 8 March 2016. This right to claim damages under the Montreal Convention is available to the families and next-of-kin of the passengers of MH370.

Hence, I urge all the families and next-of-kin, regardless of nationality, to file their claims under the Montreal Convention against MAS by March 8, 2016 to preserve their legal rights as provided under the Convention.

The Government of Malaysia remains ever conscious that the families and next-of-kin of the passengers and crew of MH370 need to be accorded their legitimate rights as provided under the relevant international instruments and domestic laws.'

Flight MH370’s Boeing 777-200ER carrying 239 passengers mostly Chinese, and crew was scheduled to land in Beijing on March 8 at 6.30am before it went off radar not long after it departed from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).