EMT309 Hospitality and Tourism Management

The Beagles is a Perth based football team and has been invited to attend an International football tournament to be held in London. The team left from Perth International Airport and was due to arrive later that day in Singapore.

During the flight, a passenger became agitated and began yelling abuse at the flight attendant, threatening to set off a bomb. During the commotion, the irate passenger pulled out a small pistol that had been hidden in his shoe. He brandished this towards the flight attendant. Shannon Hunt, the captain of the Beagles, intervened and attempted to disarm the unruly passenger. In the struggle, the gun discharged. The bullet hit Shannon in the knee. Several other players finally subdued the irate passenger.

On arrival in Singapore, the plane remained on the tarmac until security cleared the plane of any bomb threat. The team was evacuated to the terminal.

Shannon remained in Singapore for treatment and was unable to play in the tournament. After a delay of ten hours, while security cleared the plane of any bomb, the remaining players and coaches flew onto London for the tournament, except one player Nick Nata, the youngest member of the team, who was too traumatised to board the plane.  

The delay meant that the Beagles missed the first game of the tournament in London. After three days in Singapore, Shannon and Nick returned to Perth. Nick was unable to board the plane and returned to Perth on a cruise ship.

Since the incident on the plane, Nick has been unable to fly. As a result, he has been unable to play football and is currently on a break from the game. After surgery to his injured knee, Shannon was unable to play football again and has retired but was fortunate to obtain a coaching role with the Beagles. Shannon and Nick are gifted athletes and would have earned substantial income playing football.

With reference to the Montreal Convention, advise the team and players if the following claims would be successful:

1. Damages for the flight delay;
2. Damages for Shannon’s injuries and forced retirement; and
3. Nick’s loss of earnings.