The international air law agreement will apply to China starting July 31, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said on its official website yesterday. The most immediate effect will be a compensation obligation imposed on carriers in case of international flight delays.
According to the agreement, called Montreal Convention of 1999, it's principle that the highest compensation on delayed flights for individual passengers can be US5,000. Countries who sign the agreement should all keep their airway policy relating to the international routes in line with the agreement.
China signed the agreement only recently. On May 28, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress convened and ratified it. On June 1, China turned its ratification report in. Nearly two months later, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the initiator of the agreement, nodded to inform China that it will take effect starting from July 31.
A national standardard related to flight delays will take place soon, CAAC said. For the international delays, please refer to the Montreal Convention, while for domestic delays, there can be some relaxation, all depends on CAAC's new standard.