Brussels, 17/02/2016 (Agence Europe) - The Court of Justice of the EU has ruled that that airlines should compensate not only passengers affected by a flight delay but also the employers of these passengers (case C-429/14).
If the flight of a passenger who is flying on a business trip is delayed, that passenger's employer will also probably suffer financial consequences, such as payment of daily allowances and additional social security contributions. Does, however, that employer have the right to seek reimbursement of the additional costs from the airline whose fight was delayed?
The answer given to that question on Wednesday 17 February is yes. The Court noted that, under the Montreal Convention, air carriers must, in principle, provide compensation for any damage suffered as the result of a delay in the carriage by air of passengers, luggage or goods. While the convention does not state which person must have suffered the damage to be entitled to compensation, the Court concluded that the employers of passengers were also to be included since they could be designated as international air transport “consumers” when their employees take a flight. The Court stated that the compensation awarded to the employer could not in any case exceed the cumulative amount of compensation that could be awarded to all passengers if they were to bring proceedings individually. (Original version in French by Jan Kordys)