Brussels, 19/11/2009 (Agence Europe) - In a judgment delivered on Thursday 19 November 2009, the Court of Justice of the European Communities said that air passengers reaching their destinations three hours or more later than scheduled could seek flat-rate compensation from the airline, in the same way as passengers whose flights have been cancelled. Airlines may depart from this requirement if the delay is due to “extraordinary circumstances”, though “technical problems … inherent in the normal exercise of the activity”, the ruling states (Joint case C-402/07 and C-432/07).
The judgment is based essentially on regulation (EC) N° 261/2004 on compensation for air passengers. This regulation states that, if a flight is cancelled, passengers are entitled to compensation of between €250 and €600. However, the regulation does not say specifically that passengers whose flights have been delayed have the same right. The Court noted that the consequences for a delayed passenger could be similar to those felt by a passenger whose flight has been cancelled, particularly with regard to the time at which he/she arrives at his/her destination and possible re-routing that may be necessary. Such discrimination between these two situations is not acceptable, the Court said. It noted that it may be difficult to clearly differentiate between cancelled and delayed flights, since, for both, alternative transport is often provided, flight numbers and even the companies used may be changed and the traveller may arrive at a slightly different destination.
Thursday's ruling was in response to questions put by the Bundesgerichtshof (the German Supreme Court of Justice) and the Handelsgericht Wien (the Austrian Commercial Court) to the Court. These national courts must decide on how passengers should submit their claims, to Condor and Air France respectively, for payment of the compensation provided for by the regulation for flight cancellations on the grounds that these companies took them to their airport of destination with delays of 25 and 22 hours on the scheduled time of arrival. The cases will now be returned to the national courts which will have to assess the facts in each case. Tweaking of Community legislation in this area to remove any possible discrimination should not be ruled out. (C.D./transl.rt)