The pooch went missing during a journey from Buenos Aires to Barcelona, prompting a claim for losses from the owner. Now the European Court of Justice has handed down its ruling

Pets on flights can be classified as baggage, the European Court of Justice has ruled.

In a blow for pet owners, the ruling means that airlines are not required to pay higher compensation if the animal is lost.

The ruling was handed down by Europe’s highest court, the ECJ, after it was asked to intervene in the case of a lost dog. The pooch went missing during a journey from Buenos Aires to Barcelona, prompting a claim for losses from the owner.

Mona, the dog, had been put in a special pet crate, only to escape on the way to the plane. Mona was never found, prompting a claim of €5,000 (£4,340) for “non-material damage” by the passenger, and a six-year court case.

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The airline involved, Iberia, accepted liability for the loss of the pet but not the size of the claim.

The Spanish court that heard the case then referred it to the ECJ, asking whether the concept of “baggage” in the Montreal Convention governing air travel incorporated or excluded pets traveling with passengers.

“According to the Montreal Convention, other than carriage of cargo, aircraft perform international carriage of persons and baggage,” the ECJ wrote, summarising its judgment.

“The concept of ‘persons’ corresponds to that of ‘passengers,’ with the result that a pet cannot be considered to be a ‘passenger,'” it said. “Consequently, for the purposes of air travel, a pet falls within the concept of ‘baggage’ and the compensation for the damage resulting from the loss of a pet is subject to the liability rules for baggage.”

A key point was that the passenger had not submitted a special declaration of interest in delivery. That is a formal step that involves paying an additional fee, which would have allowed them to increase the liability limit for the precious cargo.

The Spanish airline argued it exceeded the liability for lost luggage without any special declarations as to the crate’s contents.

“The dog got out of the carrier, started running near the plane and could not be recovered,” the ECJ papers say.

It was heard at the earlier court hearing in Spain that despite an intense campaign on social media launched by Mona’s owner, the dog has never been recovered.

The dog owner’s lawyer in Madrid, Carlos Villa Corta, said he disagreed with the arguments made in the Luxembourg court. “I believe that a great opportunity has been missed to continue raising awareness of the rights of animals and the people who care for them. Ultimately, the ECJ considers that pets do not deserve special or enhanced legal protection compared to a simple suitcase,” he said, the Guardian reported.

According to Spanish reports on the first court case, it was ruled that because a special declaration about the animal was not made before the flight, the pet owner was entitled to only €1,578.82.

In a statement, the ECJ said: “The fact that the protection of animal welfare is an objective of general interest recognised by the European Union does not prevent animals from being transported as ‘baggage’ and from being regarded as such for the purposes of the liability resulting from the loss of an animal.”