Table of contents

1 Definitions / 2 Applicability of Conditions / 3 Execution of Air Waybill / 4 Rates and Charges / 5 Forwarding and Reforwarding / 6 Acceptability of Goods for Carriage / 7 Schedules, Cancellation of Flights / 8 Consignments in Transit / 9 Shipper's Right of Disposition / 10 Delivery / 11 Failure of Consignee to Take Delivery / 12 Liability of Carrier / 13 Complaints and Actions / 14 Qualification to Claim, Right of Action / 15 Overriding Law / 16 Modifications

Article 1: Definitions

Consignment
equivalent to the term shipment, means one or more pieces of goods accepted by the car rier from one shipper at one time and at one address, receipted for in one lot and moving on one Air Waybill to one consignee at one destination address.

Carrier
includes anyone who carries or undertakes to carry the cargo or performs any other ser vices related to such carriage.

Shipper
or consignor is the person the name of which appears on the Air Waybill as the party having made the contract with the carrier for the carriage of goods.

Consignee
is the person the name of which appears on the Air Waybill as "consignee". The persons eventually appearing on the Air Waybill next to "notify" are persons to be notified only.

Days
are full calendar days, including but not limited to Sundays and legal holidays.

Special Drawing Rights (SDR)
is a special Drawing Right as defined by the International Monetary Fund.

Convention
means the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Carriage by Air, signed at Warsaw, October 12, 1929, in its original form or that Convention as amended by the Hague Protocol of September 28, 1955, whichever may be applicable to a particular carriage.

Article 2: Applicability of conditions

Subject to mandatory provisions to the contrary relating to the carriage of dangerous goods, and except as hereinafter expressly stated otherwise, these conditions shall apply to all carriage of cargo including all services incidental thereto, performed by carrier. Carriage between places in the United States or Canada and places outside thereof shall be subject to the conditions (tariffs) in force in those countries. These may diverge in certain respects from the present conditions.
As far as permitted by applicable law, carrier reserves the right to exclude the application of all or any part of these conditions to gratuitous carriage.
With respect to carriage of cargo pursuant to a Charter Agreement these conditions and the conditions reproduced on the Air Waybill shall only apply to the extent that they are not in conflict with the Charter Agreement and the special rules and conditions mentioned therein.

Article 3: Execution of Air Waybill

The shipper shall hand over to the carrier together with each shipment an Air WaybilI properly completed in the form, manner and number of copies prescribed by carrier or shall furnish to the carrier all information necessary for the completion of the Air Waybill by the carrier. However, charges for carriage and other charges shall in any case be inserted in the Air Waybill by carrier. Carrier may require separate Air Way- bills when there is more than one package. Carrier shall be authorized to complete or correct on behalf of shipper to the best of his knowledge any incomplete or incorrect Air Waybill or information received by the shipper without being under any obligation to do so.
The shipper shall be responsible for the correctness and completeness of the particulars and statements which he inserts in the Air Waybill and for the information furnished to the carrier for the purpose of being inserted in the Air Waybill by the carrier. The shipper shall be liable for damage of whatever nature suffered by carrier or any other person by reason of the irregularity, incorrectness or incompeteness 9of said pariculars or statements or of the corrections or competions made by carrier on behalt of shipper pursuant to para. 1, last sentence, above, and shall be obliged to hold harmless the carrier, ists agents, emplyees and servants from third party claims for such damage.
If the apparent order and condition of the cargo and/or packing is other than good, the shipper shall insert in the Air Waybill an appropriate statement to that effect. If the shipper fails to do so, carrier may insert such statement.
The Air Waybill shall be deemed to be executed when signed or stamped by the carrier. It proves the contract made between the shipper and the carrier for the carriage of goods.

Article 4: Rates and charges

Applicable rates and charges shall be those published by carrier or, if not so published, those established in accordance with government-approved regulations. Applicable fares shall be those in effect on the date of the execution of the Air Waybill. If the amount paid does not correspond to these rates and charges, carrier will, as the case may be, claim or refund the balance.
The published rates and charges cover only the carriage of consignments by air between airports. In particular, they do not include the following services or charges:
a) Surface transportation for pick-up and delivery services;
b) storage charges;
c) insurance charges;
d) advanced charges;
e) charges related to customs clearance;
f) eventual airport, import or export charges or taxes;
g) other charges or penalties imposed or collected by government authorities including duties and taxes;
h) expenses for the repair of faulty packing and other expenses incurred by carrier by reason of non-compliance with these conditions or breach of other obligations in connection with the carriage by the shipper or the consignee;
i) expenses in connection with the acceptance and delivery of the shipment including service charges and expenses in connection with the consignee's failure to take delivery;
j) any other simialr services, costs or charges.
Rates and charges shall be payable in any currency acceptable to carrier. The rates of exchange shall be established by carrier, subject to applicable laws and government regulations.
All rates, costs and charges, as far as they can be determined, will be due and payable upon receipt of the cargo by carrier and if they accrue later, immediately at such later stage. They may, however, be collected by carrier at any time thereafter. They will be deemed fully earned upon acceptance of the cargo for carriage, whether or not the cargo is lost or damaged, or fails to arrive at the destination or otherwise cannot be delivered or timely delivered. For any rates or charges which cannot be determined at the time when the cargo is accepted for carriage, carrier may require the shipper to deposit with the carrier an appropriate sum which will be accounted for after completion of carriage.
The shipper shall be liable for payment of all rates, charges and expenses. He shall also be liable to indemnify the carrier for all costs, expenditures, loss or damage ofwhatever nature which carrier may incur or suffer by reason of incorrect or insufficient marking, numbering, addressing, packing or description of the cargo, or the absence of incorrectness or any export or import or other licence or any improper customs declaration or incorrect statement of weight or volume or by non-compliance with these conditions or breach of other obligations in connection with the carriage by the shipper or the consignee. The shipper shall hold harmless the carrier, its employees, servants and agents from claims by third parties for such costs, loss or damage.
Carrier shall have a lien on the cargo for all claims arising out of the contract of carriage. In the event of non-payment of any amount due within a time limit notified in writing, carrier shall furthermore have the right to dispose of the cargo at public or private sale, and to pay itself out of the proceeds of such sale any and all such amounts. The shipper shall remain liable for any deficiencies. No such lien or right of sale, and no right of carrier to collect any of the foregoing shall be in any way affected, lost or prejudiced by reason of the acknowledgement of payment, if not actually paid.
By taking delivery of consignment or the Air Waybill or by exercising any other right arising from the Contract of Carriage, the consignee agrees to be jointly and severally liable with the shipper for the aforementioned obligations. If it is agreed that rates, charges or expenses are to be collected from the consignee, the shipper shall remain liable for the payment of the same. However, his obligation with respect to such rates, charges or expenses shall cease upon delivery of the shipment by carrier to the consignee.

Article 5: Acceptance of shipments for carriage; Forwarding and reforwarding

The shipments shall be accepted at carrier's cargo receiving offices or at the airport of departure for carriage to the airport of destination. Forwarding to the cargo receiving office or to the airport of departure (pick-up service) and reforwarding beyond the airport of destination (delivery service) shall only be performed upon special agreement and subject to paras 3 and 4 hereafter.
If carrier accepts goods for storage or for the performance of preparatory actions, this shall be done upon the same conditions and limitations relating to liability as set forth in Article 15 hereof.
Pick-up and delivery services shall be available at the applicable rates. They shall be performed on request of the shipper or the consignee.
Pick-up and delivery services, transportation of cargo between the carrier's cargo receiving offices and the airport of departure and any other surface transportation shall be performed subject to the following:
a) If such transportation is operated by the carrier himself it shall be upon the same terms and limitations as to liability as set forth in Article 12 hereof.
b) The carrier may, however, in the name and for the account of the shipper or the consignee, as the case may be, and without being responsible himself, charge a third party with such transportation. In such case he shall not be liable for damage of whatever nature arising in connection with such transportation, unless proved to have been caused by his own negligence in which case, however, the conditions of Article 12 will also apply. The carrier shall be free to select the means and routes for such transportation. He may also, if he engages a third party, at his own discretion select such third party and execute and accept on behalf of the shipper or the consignee, as the case may be, the necessary transportation documents (which may include provisions exempting from or limiting liability) and consign the shipment with no declaration of value, notwithstanding any declaration of value in the Air Waybill.

Article 6: Acceptability of goods for carriage

Carrier undertakes to carry, subject to the availability of suitable equipment and space, general merchandise, goods, wares and products of all kinds, provided that
a) the transportation, or the exportation or importation or transit thereof is not prohibited,
b) they are packed and marked in a manner suitable for carriage by air,
c) they are accompanied by the requisite shipping documents,
d) they are not likely to endanger the aircraft, persons or property, or cause annoyance to passengers,
e) the transportation is not excluded by applicable laws, ordinances or government regulations.
Dangerous goods, live animals, perishables and other articles specified in applicable laws, ordinances or government regulations relating to the carriage of dangerous goods shall be acceptable only under the conditions set forth therein. It shall be the responsibility of the shipper to see to it that the respective regulations are complied with and that the necessary safety measures are taken.
Carrier reserves the right to refuse carriage of valuable cargo or of consignments for which rates, charges or costs are to be collected from the consignee, or to accept such cargo under certain conditions only.
Cargo must be packed so as to ensure safe carriage with ordinary care in handling and so as not to injure or damage any persons, goods or property. Each package shall be legibly and durably marked with the name and full street address of the shipper and consignee.
Carrier reserves the right to examine at any time the contents, the packing and marking of all consignments, but shall be under no obligation to do so. Whether or not such examination is performed, the shipper shall be solely liable for damage of whatever nature arising out of the carriage of c argo without compliance with the above rules and regulations and he shall hold harmless the carrier, its employees, servants and agents from claims by third parties for any such damage.

Article 7: Schedules, cancellation of flights

Schedules are subject to change without notice. Subject to special agreement carrier shall not undertake to carry the shipment on a particular aircraft or over a particular route or by a particular flight, nor to make connections according to a particular schedule. In all cases, paras 2 to 4 hereafter are reserved.
Carrier may without notice substitute alternate aircraft, means of transportation or carriers. He shall not, however, be under any obligation to do so even if the carriage cannot be performed or completed with the aircraft originally provided.
The carrier may without notice cancel a flight or refuse carriage of the shipment or terminate, divert or delay a flight or the carriage of a shipment if, in his opinion, it is advisable to do so for any of the following reasons:
a) Actual or threatened causes beyond its control such as unfavourable meteorological conditions, acts of God, force majeure, government regulations or demands, strikes, riots, civil commotion, war, hostilities, embargoes etc. or delays, demands, conditions or requirements due to any such fact;
b) shortage of labour or fuel, labour difficulties of carrier or others, shortage of material or facilities or technical difficulties;
c) any circumstances which jeopardize the safe performance of the flight.
Carrier may refuse carriage of a consignment if the rates and charges are not paid despite monition.
Neither the shipper nor the consingee shall be entitled to claim damages in the cases mentioned in paras 2 to 4 above. The carrier may in such cases in the name of the shipper or the consignee and on their account hand over the shipment to any forwarding agent or carrier for onward carriage by any means of transportation or to any store-keeper for storage, but he shall be under no obligation to do so. Handing over of the shipment as aforesaid shall constitute proper delivery to the person entitled to take delivery and the carrier shall have no further obligation or liability except that he shall notify the shipper or the consignee at the adress mentioned in the Air Waybill.

Article 8: Consignment in transit

The shipper shall comply with all applicable laws, customs and other government regulations of any country to, from, through or over which the cargo will be carried, including but not limited to those relating to the packing, carriage or delivery of the cargo. He shall furnish such information to the carrier and attach such documents to the Air Waybill as may be necessary to comply with such laws and regulations or to furnish carrier with the correct and complete information and documents.
Carrier may -but is under no obligation to -refuse carriage if the applicable laws or other regulations do not permit such carriage or only permit it under conditions which the shipper does not fulfil or the fulfilment ofwhich cannot be reasonably expected from carrier. No liability shall attach to carrier for loss or expenses if carrier refuses carriage because he reasonably determines in good faith that what he understands to be the applicable law or other regulation does not permit carriage or only permits it under such conditions.
Carrier shall be authorized (but shall be under no obligation) to advance any duties, taxes or charges and to make any disbursements with respect to the cargo. The shipper and -after taking delivery of the consignment -jointly and severally with him the consignee shall be liable for the reimbursement thereof.
If it is necessary to make customs entry of the cargo at any transit station the carrier may, in the absence of other agreements, proceed or have proceeded by a third person with the necessary formalities at shipper's costs. After taking delivery of the consignment the consignee shall also be liable for these costs.
If it is necessary for any reason, the carrier may hold the consignment at any place either before, during or after transit and, upon giving notice thereof to the person entitled to dispose of the consignment, at the risk and expense of the latter store the consignment in any warehouse or other available place or with the customs authorities, or deliver the consignment to another transportation service for onward carriage. With respect to the goods mentioned in Article 6, para. 2, the carrier may furthermore upon giving notice to and at the expense of the person entitled to dispose of the consignment take any measure whatsoever which is necessary for the safety of persons and goods, the consignment, the aircraft and its load or which in the carrier's reasonable opinion is deemed to be necessary. The carrier shall in such case not be liable for damage of whatever nature.

Article 9: Shipper's right of disposition

Every exercise of the right of disposition must be made by the shipper or his designated agent and must be applicable to the whole consignment under a single Air Waybill. Instructions as to disposition must be given in writing in the form prescribed by carrier. Subject to para. 4 hereafter the right of disposition over the cargo may only be exercised upon producing the shipper's original copy of the air Waybill.
Shipper may only exercise his right of disposition if and as far no prejudice is caused thereby to carrier, other shippers or passengers and provided he has carried out all his obligations under the contract of carriage. The shipper shall be liable for and shall reimburse carrier for any expenses and indemnify carrier for all loss or damage suffered or incurred by carrier as a result of his compliance with the shipper's orders, and he shall hold harmless the carrier, its employees, servants and agents from third party claims arissing in connection therewith.
The shipper may dispose of the cargo either:
a) by withdrawing it at the airport of departure or of destination,
b) by stopping it in the course of the journey on any landing,
c) by calling for it to be delivered at the place of destination or in the course of the journey to a person other than the consignee named in the Air Waybill, or
d) by requiring it to be returned to the airport of departure.

If it is not reasonably practicable to carry out the order of the shipper, carrier shall inform him promptly to this effect. The cost of so doing shall be borne by shipper.
The shipper's right of disposition shall cease at the moment when the consignment has arrived at the airport of destination. Nevertheless, the shipper resume his right of disposition and the consignee shall waive his rights if the consignee refuses to accept the Air Waybill or the consignment or if he fails to accept the same within the period mentioned in Article 10, para. 3, or if he cannot be communicated with. In such case the shipper may exercise his right of disposition without producing his original copy of the Air Waybill.

ARTICLE 10: DELIVERY

Except as otherwise specifically provided in the Air Waybill, delivery of the consignment shall be made only to the consignee named on the face of the Air Waybill or to his designated agent unless such consignee is one of the carriers participating in the carriage, in which event delivery shall be made to the person indicated on the face of the Air Waybill as the person to be notified.
The carrier will give notice of arrival of the consignment to the consignee or the person to be notified.
Unless otherwise agreed between the shipper or the consignee and the carrier, the consignee must accept delivery of the consignment at the airport of destination within 7 days from dispatch of the notice mentioned in para. 2 hereabove; perishables, dangerous articles and live animals must be accepted immediately.
Delivery of the consignment to the consignee shall be made by carrier only against written receipt. Delivery shall also be deemed t have been effected when the consignment has been delivered to customs or other government authorities or customs clearance agents as required by applicable law or regulations and carrier has delivered to the consignee.
Upon delivery or immediately thereafter the consignee must remove the consignment from carrier's premises. After delivery the carrier shall not be liable for loss or damage of whatever nature.
By accepting delivery ot the Air Waybill and/or the consignment the consignee shall become liable for payment of all costs and charges in connection with the carriage. Unless otherwise agreed the shipper shall not be released from his own liabillity for these costs and charges and will remain jointly and severally liable with the consignee. The carrier may make delivery of the consignment or the Air Waybill conditional upon payment of these costs and charges.

Article 11: Failure of consignee to take delivery

If the consignee refuses to take delivery of the consignment or fails to take delivery within the period specified in Article 10, para. 3 or if the carrier is unable to deliver the consignment because the consignee refuses to pay the charges and costs due to him, the rights of the consignee shall cease. In such case, carrier will, subject to para. 2 hereafter, endeavour to comply with any instructions of the shipper set forth on the face of the Air Waybill. If no such instructions exist or if they cannot be reasonably complied with, carrier may, after forwarding to the shipper notice of the failure of the consignee to take delivery and in the absence of instructions from the shipper within 30 days, return the consignment to the airport of departure or sell such consignment at public or private sale according to applicable law.
If a consignment contains perishable or dangerous articles or live animals carrier shall not be obliged to respect the time limits mentioned in para. 1 above. He may immediately and prior to the notification of the shipper take such steps as he sees fit for the protection of the consignment, of himself or other parties.
The shipper shall be liable for all charges and expenses and costs resulting from or in connection with the consignee's falilure to take delivery of the consignment.

Article 12: Liability of carrier

Except as mandatory provisions of applicable law may otherwise require:

Carrier shall not be liable to the shipper or to any other person for any damage of whatsoever nature arising out of or in connection with the carriage or other services performed by carrier, unless such damage has been caused by the negligence of the carrier while there has been no contributory negligence of the shipper, consignee or another person claiming damages.
No warranty concerning any aircraft engaged in carriage or concerning its fitness for the carriage of the cargo to which the contract relates shall be implied in the contract of carriage.
Carrier shall not be liable for indirect or consequential damage. Carrier shall not be libale for loss or income.
Carrier shall not be liable for any damage directly of indirectly arising out of compliance with laws, government regulations, orders or requirement, or from failure of shipper or consignee to comply, with same, or from any cause beyond carrier's control.
Liability of carrier shall be limited to 19 SDR or their equivalent per kilogram of cargo. This limitation shall not be applicable if shipper on handing over the cargo to carrier will have declared a higher value and paid the applicable additional charge. In such event carrier's liability is limited to such higher declared value. If only part of the. cargo is lost, damaged, destroyed or delayed carrier's liability will be reduced in the same proportion as the weight of the packages concerned bears to the total weight of the consignment carried under the Air Waybill regardless of the value of the objects lost, damaged, destroyed or delayed. Nevertheless, if the loss, damage or delay affects the value of other packages carried under the same Air Waybill, the weight of such packages shall also be taken into account. In no case shall carrier's liability exceed the actual loss suffered. All claims are subject to proof of amount of loss.
Carrier shall not be liable for damage to or destruction of a consignment caused by or as a result of property contained therein. Liability shall also be excluded for damage caused by change of climate, temperature or altitude or by other circumstances normally connected with air transportation or due to the length of time of the carriage.
Carrier shall not be liable for any damage arising from death or injury of an animal carried due to natural causes or due to the animal's own state or nature or a cause mentioned in para. 6 hereabove or caused by the conduct or acts of the animal itself or of other animals. In no event will carrier be liable for death of or injury to any animal attendant caused to or contributed by the condition, conduct or acts of the animal attended or by any other animals.
If a consignment or its contents cause death of or injury to any person or damage to other consignments or the property of carrier or third parties or if special measures have to be taken to avoid such damage, shipper shall indemnify carrier for all losses and expenses arising therefrom and shall hold harmless carrier, its employees, servants, agents or representative from third party claims for such damage. Carrier shall have the right to take any measures he thinks appropriate including abandonments or destruction with respect to consignments which might injure persons or damage property and shall not be liable for the consequences arising therefrom.
Carrier shall not be liable for damage not occurring on its own line. Nevertheless, in the case of carriage to be performed by several successive carriers the consignor shall also have a right of action for such damage against the first carrier and the consignee who is entitled to delivery shall also have such a right of action against the last carrier.
A carrier issuing an Air Waybill for carriage over the lines of others does so -notwith-standing the definition of carrier in article 1 -only as an agent.
Whenever the liability of carrier is excluded or limited under these conditions, such exclusion or limitationshall also apply to employees, agents, servants or representatives of the carrier acting within the scope of their employment and also to any carrier whose aircraft is used for carriage and to its employees, agents, servants or representatives, acting within the scope of their employment.

Article 13: Complaint and actions

Receipt by the person entitled to delivery of the cargo without complaint shall be prima facie evidence that the same has been delivered in good conditionand in accordance with the document of carriage.
In the case of damage to or partial loss of cargo the person entitled to delivery must complain to the carrier forthwith after the discovery of the damage, and at the latest within seven days from the date of receipt. In the case of delay the complaint must be made at the latest within 15 days from the date on which the consignment has been placed at the disposal of the person entitled to delivery and in the case of loss (including non-delivery) within 115 days from the date of issue of the Air Waybill. If mandatory provisions of applicable law request other time-limits the complaint must be made within those limits.
Every complaint must be made in writing upon the document of carriage of by separate notice in writing an dispatched within the times aforesaid.
Failing complaint within the times aforesaid, no action shall lie against the carrier, save in the cause of fraud on his part.
Any right to damages against carrier shall be extinguished unless an action is brought within two years, reckoned from the date of arrival of the aircraft at the destination or from the date on which the aircraft ought to have arrived or from the date on which the carriage stopped. The method of calculating the period of limitation shall be determined by the law of the court seized.

Article 14: Qualification to claim, right of action

Any claim related to damage, loss, destruction or delay shall exclusively have to be made by the shipper as far as he is entitled to dispose of the consignment pursuant to Article 9 hereabove and exclusively by the consignee insofar as he is entitled to delivery according to Article 10 hereabove. Any right of action shall therefore belong exclusively to the person entitled to dispose of the cargo. After delivery of the consignment the consignee shall be exclusively entitled to bring an action.

Article 15: Overriding law

Insofar as any provision contained or referred to in the Air Waybill or in these conditions may be contrary to mandatory law, government regulations, orders or requirements, such provision shall remain applicable and form a part of the contract of carriage to the extent that it is not overridden thereby. The invalidity of any provision shall not affect any other part.

Article 16: Modification

No employee, agent, servant or representative of carrier shall have authority to alter, modify or waive any provisions of the contract of carriage or of these conditions.
Subject to approval by the Federal Office for Civil Aviation carrier may alter without notice these conditions and the published tariffs and charges and carrier's regulations unless excluded by applicable laws or ordinances. These conditions shall be applicable in the form valid on the day of issue of the Air Waybill.

Approved by the Federal Office for Civil Aviation on September 25, 1986 (Article 4, Swiss Regulations on Carriage by Air).

Edition 1987 / In force as from 1st January 1987