17/05/2021 (Agence Europe) – The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued a judgment on 12 May concerning the definition of what constitutes an accident during the landing of an aircraft (case C-70/20). In concrete terms, a ‘hard’ landing that does not go beyond the normal operation of an aircraft cannot be classified as an accident and therefore does not incur the carrier’s liability, it ruled. According to the Court, this type of event is an accident when it includes an “involuntary, harmful, and unforeseen” character. These notions, the Court points out, cannot be assessed by the passengers on board the aircraft, but according to standard landing procedures. The case was referred to the CJEU by the Austrian Supreme Court after a complaint from a passenger who was injured during a landing in 2014. See the full judgment: https://bit.ly/3hKu42n (TM)