Research On The Legal Responsibility Of International Flight Delays

Since the first scheduled flight from Paris to Brussels has opened, air transport has become increasingly improved after the development for nearly a century. The quickness and convenience of air transport meet people’s demand of fast displacement. That’s why air transport becomes the first choice of most people to travel. However, flight delays make people questioned about the timeliness of flight transportation and caused a lot of disputes. Although the major airlines in the world spare no effort to improve the flight punctuality rate, flight delay is still a chronic problem in air transport.With the rapid development of air transport, flight delays are increasing. Flight delays become the focus of travelling. No clear definition and detailed rules have been provided for the issue of flight delay so far. Such indeterminacy has further confused or delayed the proper resolution in practice. The issue of flight delay has become a worldwide problem, and it’s a serious problem requiring international co ordinance.Therefore, what is flight delay? What legal responsibility should air carrier bear under the circumstance of flight delay? These questions have great importance in theoretical and practical. Identifying the definition of flight delays correctly and confirming the constitution of the legal responsibility of flight delays is the key to solve the disputes between air carriers and passengers. On the basis of defining the concept of flight delays and elaborating the reasons of flight delays, the paper will explore the concept, characteristics and application of law of international air transport contracts, and analyze the legal responsibility air carriers should take when delays occur. Combined with foreign laws and regulations about delays and foreign airlines’ practice, the paper will analyze laws and regulations and airlines’ practice in China. Finally, the paper will put forward some suggestions about the improvement of the relevant legislation and system in China, and the settlement of the disputes. From a structural point of view, this paper is divided into four parts:Combined with international law, domestic law, theory of law and industry standard, the first part will probe how to define flight delays and analyze the reasons caused flight delays and the type of flight delays.In the second part, the paper first analyze the concept, characteristics and application of law of international air transport contracts, and the right of passengers and the obligation of air carriers. And then the paper will analyze the legal responsibilities of international flight delays from the aspects such as responsibility principles, elements, defenses, ways to bear responsibilities and the scope of compensation.The third part introduces the foreign laws and regulations about delays and foreign airlines’ practice, especially USA and EU.The fourth part firstly analyzes the laws and regulations about delays in China. And combined with the third part, the fourth part will put forward legislative proposals about flight delays in our country.The final conclusion is that in order to solve the problems caused by flight delays, China need to improve the relevant laws and regulations as soon as possible and improve the quality of service as well. When learning from foreign legislation and practice, we should take full consideration into the specific conditions in China in order to balance the interests between passengers and air carriers.