Violent behaviour by a passenger that justified a diversion of the flight to the nearest airport in order to disembark that passenger and resulting in a flight delay on arrival falls under the category of "extraordinary circumstances", thus excluding compensation for delay. This was the view of the Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union, Pritt Pikamaë, in his Opinion delivered on Thursday 27 February in Case C-74/19.
The Portuguese airline TAP refused to compensate a passenger whose flight was delayed for over three hours, invoking the exception to the obligation to compensate prescribed by regulation (261/2004) in the event of extraordinary circumstances.
TAP argues that the aircraft delay was due to the fact that the aircraft used by the airline was the same as the one used on the previous flight and, during that other flight, a passenger had bitten other passengers and assaulted the cabin crew who were trying to calm him down, forcing the captain of the aircraft to make a detour to the nearest airport to disembark the passenger.
The national court which referred the case asks the Court whether such conduct may constitute an "extraordinary circumstance" within the meaning of EU law.
In his Opinion, the Advocate General replies in the affirmative, explaining that EU law classifies the violent behaviour of a passenger on board as a significant risk to air safety, that the use of violence deviates from what can be regarded as "socially acceptable behaviour" and clearly represents an "event unrelated to air transport".
Furthermore, according to the Advocate General, the fact that "extraordinary circumstances" take place on board an aircraft used in the context of a rotation system justifies, in principle, an exemption for the air carrier from its obligation to compensate for the long delays incurred as a result.
The air carrier must nevertheless be able to establish that it has taken all reasonable steps to avoid cancellation or delay, the Advocate General states.
See the conclusions: https://bit.ly/2VqNGgx (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)