SAS objects to Swedish proposal on extended carrier responsibility

Airline Industry Information, Feb 6, 2004

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

Scandinavian airline group SAS Group has rejected a proposal from the Swedish government for increased carrier responsibility for airlines.

The aim of the proposal is to make it harder for refugees to reach Sweden by giving airlines responsibility for ensuring that passengers' travel documentation is in order.

However SAS is unhappy with the idea, saying that extended carrier responsibility transfers official tasks to individual carriers and could force airlines to decide whether a passenger is entitled to seek asylum or not.

In addition, according to SAS, the proposal would oblige airlines to determine whether documentation is missing or is obviously false. In the event of SAS personnel making a mistake or if there is an oversight in checking the documents, SAS risks having to pay return transport, living costs and a penalty if the passenger is rejected.

SAS also argues that it would risk being held responsible for passengers disposing of their documentation during the journey.

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