14 CFR Part 253: Notice of terms of contract of carriage
Part 253 is about disclosure rather than entitlement. It governs how an airline may incorporate its contract of carriage by reference, and requires the airline to give passengers notice of the terms that bind them.
It also restricts retroactive changes to a contract of carriage, and requires notice of choice-of-forum provisions, which decide where a dispute has to be brought.
Why a passenger would open this part
The contract of carriage is where airlines put the limits people are most surprised by. Part 253 is the reason they cannot bind you to terms you were never told about.
This summary is ours. The regulation’s own words are quoted below and linked in full.
The sections that matter to you
Of the 10sections in this part, these are the ones that bear on what a passenger gets. Which sections belong on this list is our judgement, not the regulation’s.
- § 253.5Notice of incorporated terms
- § 253.6Explanation of incorporated terms
- § 253.7Direct notice of certain terms
- § 253.9Retroactive changes to contracts of carriage
- § 253.10Notice of contract of carriage choice-of-forum provisions
The remaining 5 are definitional or administrative
- § 253.1Purpose
- § 253.2Applicability
- § 253.3Definitions
- § 253.4Incorporation by reference in the contract of carriage
- § 253.8Qualifications to notice requirements
Every time this part changed
- Nov. 19, 1982 47 FR 52134The part as originally adopted.
Dates and citations are taken from the source note printed with the regulation. Entries with no description are ones the source note records without explaining, and we do not guess at what changed. All six parts side by side are on the rights timeline.
What we have not covered here
We hold the section list and the source note for this part but have not yet published verified text from its individual sections, so nothing is quoted here.
What this means in practice
Row30 provides data journalism and education, not legal advice. We are not a law firm and do not represent passengers in legal proceedings. For advice about your own situation, consult an attorney.