Airline passengers' rights in Georgia are defined by the Air Code: under the contract of carriage the carrier must bring the passenger to the destination and deliver the baggage to the authorised person; the contract is evidenced by a ticket and a baggage receipt; and the passenger has the right to refuse the flight and recover the fare. This page explains these rights under Articles 63, 66 and 68 of the Code.
The carriage contract and its content
Under the first part of Article 63, under the contract of passenger carriage the carrier undertakes to bring the passenger to the destination and, where the passenger checks in baggage, to carry the baggage to the destination and hand it to the authorised person. The passenger undertakes to pay the fare established for the carriage and, where baggage is checked in, also the fee for its carriage. The carrier's two duties — carriage and delivery — are thus answered by the passenger's single duty of payment.
The contract of cargo transportation is regulated by the second part of the same article: the carrier undertakes to carry the cargo accepted from the sender to the destination and hand it to the authorised person, while the sender undertakes to pay the established fee. These contracts place the expectations of the passenger and the sender toward the carrier in a common frame.
The obligations of the two parties complement each other: the carrier's duty to carry and deliver is answered by the passenger's duty to pay. The fare and the baggage fee form part of the conditions of carriage, and where the carrier fails to perform, the passenger builds the claim precisely on those conditions — what is written in the ticket and the receipt becomes the boundary of the subject of the dispute.
Transport documents
Under Article 66, the contract of carriage of passengers, baggage, cargo and postal items is evidenced respectively by a ticket, a baggage, cargo or postal receipt. The basic requirements for the form and content of these documents are established by the agency on the basis of the models and standards provided for by Georgia's international treaties and agreements.
The ticket and the receipt are therefore not mere formality: they are the principal evidence of the existence and terms of the contract on which a claim is built, and their loss complicates the proof. The passenger's position begins precisely with these documents: what carriage was contracted, what fare was paid and what baggage was checked in — all of this is read from the document.
The standardisation of documents protects the passenger: instead of each carrier inventing its own form, the agency establishes uniform requirements on the basis of international models — the content of the ticket thereby becomes repetitive and comparable, and the room for interpretation in a dispute shrinks.
Refusal of the flight and refund
Article 68 gives the passenger freedom: the passenger has the right to refuse the flight and recover the amount paid for the carriage, provided notice is given to the carrier within the period established by the respective rules. The notice period is here the decisive legal fact: it determines which regime applies.
With late notice the rule changes: the passenger may recover part of the amount paid for the carriage; the remaining amount, which constitutes a fee and must not exceed 25% of the value of one-way carriage, is retained. This rule balances the passenger's freedom against the carrier's costs: part of the fare returns to the passenger, while the fee — capped — stays with the carrier as reimbursement of the cost actually incurred.
The cap on the fee — 25% of the value of one-way carriage — is a compromise between the carrier's interest and the passenger's freedom: with late notice the carrier keeps its real cost, but not the whole fare. The cap flows from the law and cannot be exceeded through ticket conditions. The refund claim is likewise built on documents: the ticket confirms the amount paid, and the notice period is established by the respective rules — fixing both circumstances is the precondition of the claim.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below we answer questions about passengers' rights.
What may the passenger demand?
Transport to the destination and, where baggage is checked in, its delivery to the authorised person.
How is the contract evidenced?
By the ticket and the baggage receipt; form and content are regulated by the agency.
May the flight be changed?
Yes — by refusal with a full refund, if notice is given within the established period.
What happens with late notice?
Part of the fare is refunded; a fee of up to 25% of the one-way value is retained.
How does the passenger prove the contract?
By the ticket and the baggage receipt — the principal evidence of the contract and its terms.
How We Help on Legal.ge
The Legal.ge team assesses the terms of the ticket and the receipt, establishes the obligations undertaken under the contract and prepares claims against the carrier.
If your relations with the airline have grown into a dispute, write to us on Legal.ge — we will assess your rights and build the position on the basis of the documents.