What is the Montreal Convention liability limit for cargo?

26 Special Drawing Rights per kilogram for destruction, loss, damage or delay, in force since 28 December 2024. It was 22 SDR from 2019 and 17 SDR in the 1999 text. Only a value declared at handover, with any supplement paid, raises it.

How long do I have to claim for damaged air cargo?

A written complaint within 14 days of receiving the cargo, or 21 days for delay. A court action must then be brought within two years of arrival, or of the date the aircraft ought to have arrived.

Does the Montreal Convention apply to domestic flights?

Not to a purely domestic flight. It covers international carriage between two states that are parties, or within one party with an agreed stop abroad. A flight inside one country falls under that country's own law.

What is an SDR worth?

The Special Drawing Right is the IMF's unit of account, valued every day from a basket of currencies. On 9 October 2026 the IMF valued one SDR at US$1.353260, so 26 SDR was about US$35.18 a kilogram.

Term

Montreal Convention

The Montreal Convention 1999 is the treaty that sets an air carrier's liability for international cargo. The carrier answers for loss, damage or delay, but since 28 December 2024 only up to 26 Special Drawing Rights per kilogram, unless a higher value was declared at handover. Damage must be reported in writing within 14 days.

Also called Montreal Convention 1999, MC99, air cargo liability limit, SDR per kgUpdated 13 October 2026

What it covers

Article 1 applies the convention to international carriage of persons, baggage or cargo performed by aircraft for reward: departure and destination in two states that are parties, or in one party with an agreed stop in another state. Under Article 18 the carrier is liable for destruction, loss of or damage to cargo if the event happened during the carriage by air; Article 19 adds delay. Where a route falls under both this convention and the older Warsaw system, Article 55 says Montreal prevails.

The limit, and how it moves

In force from	Cargo limit per kg
The 1999 text	17 SDR
28 December 2019	22 SDR
28 December 2024	26 SDR

Article 22(3), as revised under Article 24

ICAO, the treaty's depositary, reviews the limits at five-year intervals against inflation. Its 2024 review found an inflation factor of 17.9 per cent, and the new figures took effect for every party on 28 December 2024; the UK wrote them into its own law by a statutory instrument in force from 7 February 2025. The limit counts only the weight of the packages concerned — unless losing them cuts the value of other packages on the same air waybill, when those count too.

Worked example: one damaged pallet

120 kg damaged × 26 SDR = 3,120 SDR · 3,120 × US$1.353260 per SDR (IMF, 9 October 2026) = US$4,222 maximum

Say the pallet held instruments invoiced at US$18,000 and no value was declared: the carrier owes at most about US$4,222, and cargo insurance is what covers the rest.

Deadlines that end a claim

Damage: a written complaint within 14 days of receiving the cargo (Article 31).
Delay: a written complaint within 21 days of the cargo being placed at the consignee's disposal.
Miss either and no action lies against the carrier, except for fraud.
Court action: within two years, or the right to damages is extinguished (Article 35).

The mistake people make

Expecting to break the limit by proving the carrier was careless. Article 22(5) lifts the limits for intentional or reckless damage only in paragraphs 1 and 2 — passenger delay and baggage. The cargo limit in paragraph 3 holds whatever the cause. The one way above it is a special declaration of interest when the package is handed over, with any supplementary sum paid. The carrier also escapes liability if it proves the damage came from the cargo's inherent defect or from packing done by someone other than the carrier.

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