El Al Israel Airlines, Ltd. v. Tsui Yuan Tseng, 525 U.S. 155, 9 (1999)

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Cite as: 525 U. S. 155 (1999)

Opinion of the Court

the conditions of liability for damage caused by delay. Ibid.6 Article 24, referring back to Articles 17, 18, and 19, instructs:

"(1) In the cases covered by articles 18 and 19 any action for damages, however founded, can only be brought subject to the conditions and limits set out in this convention.

"(2) In the cases covered by article 17 the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall also apply, without prejudice to the questions as to who are the persons who have the right to bring suit and what are their respective rights." Id., at 3020.7

II

With the key treaty provisions as the backdrop, we next describe the episode-in-suit. On May 22, 1993, Tsui Yuan Tseng arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport (hereinafter JFK) to board an El Al Israel Airlines flight to Tel Aviv. In conformity with standard El Al preboarding procedures, a security guard questioned Tseng about her destination and travel plans. The guard considered Tseng's responses "illogical," and ranked her as a "high risk" passenger. Tseng was taken to a private security room where her baggage and person were searched for explosives and detonating devices. She was told to remove her shoes, jacket, and sweater, and to lower her blue jeans to mid-6 Article 19 provides: "The carrier shall be liable for damage occasioned by delay in the transportation by air of passengers, baggage, or goods." Ibid.

7 Chapter III of the Convention sets forth a number of other rules governing air carrier liability. Among these, Article 20 relieves a carrier of liability if it has "taken all necessary measures to avoid the damage." Ibid. Article 22 sets monetary limits on a carrier's liability for harm to passengers and baggage. See ibid. Article 23 invalidates "[a]ny [con-tract] provision tending to relieve the carrier of liability or to fix a lower limit than that which is laid down in th[e] [C]onvention." Id., at 3020. Article 25(1) renders the Convention's limits on liability inapplicable if the damage is caused by a carrier's "wilful misconduct." Ibid.

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