CARRIER NOT LIABLE FOR DENYING TRANSPORT TO SURLY TICKET-HOLDER

July 15, 2016

On April 28, 2016, a New York federal court determined that an individual denied boarding on an international flight departing from Cairo, Egypt was unable to maintain claims against Royal Air Maroc (RAM). The passenger had refused to pay an overweight baggage fee and spoke inappropriately to RAM agents. Under Articles VIII and IX of RAM’s Conditions of Carriage, RAM was allowed to charge an overweight baggage fee and deny boarding to the plaintiff, who had refused to pay the fee and behaved aggressively towards RAM staff. As part of his breach-of-contract claim, the passenger asserted that RAM had discriminated against him on the basis of his national origin, religion, and marital status, and that he had suffered economic damages as a result of the denied boarding. The passenger did not dispute that RAM Conditions of Carriage governing his ticket purchase contained the relevant contract terms allowing RAM to deny boarding due to his behavior and refusal to pay baggage fees. The court found that neither federal anti-discrimination statutes nor New York state laws applied to discriminatory conduct that occurred outside of the U.S.  The court also found that, because the passenger admitted that he had spoken inappropriately to ticket counter agents and refused to pay baggage fees, no reasonable jury could find that the carrier had breached its Conditions of Carriage when it revoked the passenger’s boarding passes.  The court then granted summary judgment in favor of RAM.

If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6665).

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