El Al Israel Airlines, Ltd. v. Tsui Yuan Tseng, 525 U.S. 155, 8 (1999)

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162

EL AL ISRAEL AIRLINES, LTD. v. TSUI YUAN TSENG

Opinion of the Court

gence." Id., at 408. In Eastern Airlines, Inc. v. Floyd, 499 U. S. 530 (1991), we held that mental or psychic injuries un-accompanied by physical injuries are not compensable under Article 17 of the Convention, but declined to reach the question whether the Convention "provides the exclusive cause of action for injuries sustained during international air transportation." Id., at 553. We resolve in this case the question on which we earlier reserved judgment.

At the outset, we highlight key provisions of the treaty we are interpreting. Chapter I of the Warsaw Convention, entitled "Scope—Definitions,fl declares in Article 1(1) that the "[C]onvention shall apply to all international transportation of persons, baggage, or goods performed by aircraft for hire." 49 Stat. 3014.4 Chapter III, entitled "Liability of the Carrier,fl defines in Articles 17, 18, and 19 the three kinds of liability for which the Convention provides. Article 17 establishes the conditions of liability for personal injury to passengers:

"The carrier shall be liable for damage sustained in the event of the death or wounding of a passenger or any other bodily injury suffered by a passenger, if the accident which caused the damage so sustained took place on board the aircraft or in the course of any of the operations of embarking or disembarking." 49 Stat. 3018.

Article 18 establishes the conditions of liability for damage to baggage or goods. Id., at 3019.5 Article 19 establishes

4 Citations in this opinion are to the official English translation of the Convention. See 49 Stat. 3014-3023. Where relevant, we set out, in addition, the Convention's governing French text. See 49 Stat. 3000-3009; Air France v. Saks, 470 U. S. 392, 397 (1985).

5 Article 18 provides, in relevant part: "(1) The carrier shall be liable for damage sustained in the event of the destruction or loss of, or of damage to, any checked baggage or any goods, if the occurrence which caused the damage so sustained took place during the transportation by air." 49 Stat. 3019.

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