Air Cargo Damaged or Delayed: Send the Written Notice in Time

If international air cargo is damaged or made available late, the written notice of complaint should be prepared immediately and sent to the carrier in a provable way. For goods, Article 31 of the Montreal Convention provides a 14-day period after acceptance for damage and a 21-day period after the goods were placed at the recipient’s disposal for delay. The relevant starting point depends on the problem.

The first task is classification. Is the complaint about physical damage to the goods or about delayed availability? Has the shipment already been accepted? Can the acceptance, discovery and availability dates be shown? These facts should be recorded separately.

This article explains the Article 31 notice rules for goods in international carriage by air. It covers the rebuttable presumption after unconditional acceptance, the written form and the consequence of missing the period. CMR road carriage and passenger compensation belong to different legal frameworks. The article on an exceeded CMR delivery deadline addresses road carriage separately.

Article 31 of the Montreal Convention appears in the provisions on timely complaints concerning carriage by air. The practical review therefore begins by establishing that the matter concerns international carriage of goods by air and a claim being considered against the carrier. A label in an order does not answer every part of that question. The air waybill, departure and destination and the companies involved belong in the shipment file.

This article concerns goods. Article 31 also mentions checked baggage and sets a different damage period for it. The distinction matters for businesses whose templates or reporting systems record commercial shipments and baggage cases together. The notice should identify the shipment clearly as goods.

The nature of the problem must also be clear. Damage concerns the condition of the goods. Delay concerns the point at which the goods were placed at the recipient’s disposal. Both may occur in the same shipment, but they require separate descriptions and separate time calculations.

When the recipient accepts goods without a reservation, Article 31(1) of the Montreal Convention creates a rebuttable presumption that the goods were delivered in good condition and in accordance with the transport document or other records. Rebuttable means that suitable circumstances and evidence can challenge the presumption. It does not replace an examination of the specific damage.

The condition at acceptance should therefore be recorded as precisely as possible. Record the number and marks of packages, visible traces on packaging and seals and any reservation in the delivery record. For concealed damage, the opening, discovery, packaging condition and first notice are particularly important.

The presumption and the notice period answer different questions. Even when damage becomes visible only after acceptance, Article 31(2) requires prompt notice after discovery and in any event within the statutory period. A reservation at handover does not automatically replace the later written notice.

For damage, Article 31(2) of the Montreal Convention requires the recipient to notify the carrier immediately after discovering the damage. For goods, the notice must in any event be made within 14 days after acceptance. The rule therefore combines an immediate response linked to discovery with an outer limit linked to acceptance.

The 14 days are not a reason to wait. A visible defect should be reported at handover or immediately afterwards. For concealed damage, the practical response starts with discovery. At the same time, preserve the condition before the packaging or goods are changed.

Article 31(2) sets a seven-day period after acceptance for damage to checked baggage. That period must not be transferred to commercial goods, and the 14-day goods period must not be used as the baggage period. The notice should identify the recipient and the type of shipment clearly.

For delay, Article 31(2) of the Montreal Convention requires notice within 21 days after the goods were placed at the recipient’s disposal. The relevant point is therefore the actual availability of the shipment. The arrival of the aircraft need not be the same as the point at which the goods could be collected or otherwise received.

Secure the collection release, arrival or availability notice, tracking records, handover documents and any collection arrangements. Record expected and actual availability separately. With several packages or partial deliveries, the file should show which goods the delay notice concerns.

Late availability may occur together with damage. Both complaints should be described in the written notice and the relevant times should be recorded separately. The article on CMR groupage and quantity discrepancies shows why quantity and damage issues are also kept separate in road carriage. Its CMR periods do not apply to air cargo.

Article 31(3) of the Montreal Convention requires every complaint to be made in writing and delivered or dispatched within the relevant period. The notice should therefore identify the shipment, the goods and the nature of the complaint, and state the acceptance, discovery or availability time relied on by the recipient.

Write the complaint so that the carrier can allocate it to the correct shipment. State the air waybill number, package, visible or discovered damage, acceptance date or availability date and the requested next coordination step. A general message without a shipment reference can make later allocation difficult.

Keep the dispatched version and attachments unchanged. Preserve the recipient address, dispatch time, delivery or receipt confirmation and every reply. An electronic message may qualify as a written statement in a particular case. Whether it meets the concrete formal requirements and proves receipt depends on its content, transmission and circumstances. The notice should therefore be sent through the agreed channel and the dispatch should be documented.

The existing article on the cargo damage notice discusses receipt, content and evidential value in CMR and other transport matters. For air cargo, the 14-day and 21-day rules explained here remain the relevant distinction.

Article 31(4) of the Montreal Convention provides a serious consequence: if the notice period is missed, any action against the carrier is excluded unless the carrier acted fraudulently. The rule ties the consequence to the missed notice and goes beyond a mere difficulty in proving the damage.

Whether a notice was timely can be assessed only with a reliable timeline. Record acceptance, discovery, availability, dispatch and, where relevant, receipt separately. For delay, check especially when the goods were placed at the recipient’s disposal. For damage, the 14-day outer period does not replace an immediate response after discovery.

The exception for fraudulent conduct depends on the specific circumstances and should not be assumed without concrete indications. If the period may already have expired or the dates conflict, the complete shipment file with the air waybill, messages and delivery records should be reviewed promptly.

A useful shipment file makes the time calculation traceable. Begin with the air waybill, booking confirmation, transport order and the sender, recipient, departure and destination details. Add packing lists, invoices or descriptions where they identify the goods and packages concerned.

For damage, photographs of packaging, packages, seals, marks and damage areas are useful. Record when the shipment was received, opened and inspected. Preserve packaging and damaged parts where practical. For delay, add tracking, collection release, availability notice and actual handover to the timeline.

For the notice itself, keep the draft, final version, attachments, recipient, dispatch time and response. Link every message to the correct shipment. If you also use the article on the transport damage notice, its CMR distinction must be checked independently for an air-cargo matter.

Treating 14 days as a waiting period: Article 31(2) requires immediate notice after damage is discovered. The 14 days are the outer period for goods after acceptance.

Starting delay with the flight arrival: The 21 days run from the time the goods were placed at the recipient’s disposal. Aircraft arrival and actual availability may differ.

Combining damage and delay: Both complaints need a clear description and their own dates.

Treating goods and checked baggage alike: Article 31(2) names seven days for damage to checked baggage and 14 days for goods.

Dispatching without proof: A copy of the text alone is not enough for a later time review. Dispatch, recipient and attachments should remain traceable.

Describing only the damage: Without the air waybill, package and acceptance or availability time, the notice may be difficult to allocate.

Secure the original records first and create a short timeline. Describe damage and delay separately. Send the notice in writing through the agreed channel and keep the complete communication. If the claim is disputed or the dates are unclear, have the file reviewed with all time records.