Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Legal News Blogs -> JURIST - The Paper Chase

Legal News

: JURIST - The Paper Chase

Europe court rules airline passengers must be compensated for canceled flights

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The European Court of Justice (ECJ) Monday upheld a law that passengers must be compensated if a flight is canceled without "extraordinary circumstances." The law, passed in 2004 by the Council of the European Union, established common rules regarding compensation and assistance to passengers for canceled flights. The original claim against Alitalia was brought by an Austrian family that was unable to make their connecting flight as a result of Alitalia's flight cancellation. The court held:Article 5(3) of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights ... must be interpreted as meaning that a technical problem in an aircraft which leads to the cancellation of a flight is not covered by the concept of ‘extraordinary circumstances' within the meaning of that provision, unless that problem stems from events which, by their nature or origin, are not inherent in the normal exercise of the activity of the air carrier concerned and are beyond its actual control.Monday's ruling clarifies the law and forces the airlines to show that the circumstances for the cancellation were in fact extraordinary. The legislation, which went into effect in 2005, requires airlines to compensate travelers for cancellations, delays, and denial of seats. It places the burden of proof on airlines if they wish to avoid payment. In 2006, the ECJ upheld the airline passenger regulations in a challenge brought by International Air Transport Association and the European Low Fares Airline Association, which argued that the law was too costly to implement and some conditions were outside of the airlines' control.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on December 23, 2008 (boomark / email).