If an airline is unable to prove that a passenger was notified of the cancellation of his or her flight more than two weeks before the scheduled departure time, it must compensate the person in question in line with European rules, the Court of Justice of the EU found on Thursday 11 May (case C-302/16).
Mr Bas Jacob Adriaan Krijgsman booked a return flight between Amsterdam and Panamaribo, operated by the airline SLM, through an online travel agency. On 9 October 2014, SLM notified the travel agency of the cancellation of the outward leg scheduled for 14 November 2014. However, Krijgsman was not notified until 4 November 2004 through an email from the travel agency.
On the basis of the regulation (261/2004) governing traveller compensation in the event of flight cancellations, the Dutch national claimed compensation of €600 from SLM. The airline refused on the grounds that the information on the flight cancellation had been sent to the travel agency within the time stipulated by the regulation. For its part, the agency declined any responsibility, as it argued that this was the responsibility of the airline, which possessed the email address of the passenger.
Having had the matter referred to it by the district court of the northern Netherlands, the Court found that it was the responsibility of the airline to prove that it had informed its passengers of the flight cancellation and that it did so within the period of time laid down by the European rules. This obligation still applies if the contract between an airline and a passenger was concluded via an online travel agency.
The Court stipulates that the airline is entitled to seek compensation from anybody who caused it to fail in its obligations, in line with the national law applicable. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)