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Date Published: 29/01/2024
EU announces new unpopular rule on delayed flight compensation
To be entitled to compensation in the event of a long flight delay, passengers must still turn up at the airport
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that passengers who choose to book an alternate flight when their original trip is delayed will not be entitled to compensation unless they have presented themselves at the airport.
This unpopular decision stemmed from a case involving two German travellers who pursued separate legal action against Ryanair and another airline in German courts.
According to the ECJ, passengers who opt for an alternative flight instead of arriving at the airport for the originally scheduled flight cannot claim compensation since “an irreversible loss of time equal to or in excess of three hours” can’t be proven.
The first ruling concerns a passenger booked on a flight from Düsseldorf to Mallorca. When Lauda Air, a low-cost carrier operated by Ryanair, announced that take-off would be delayed by six hours, the man, named only as WY, booked a different flight so as not to miss a work commitment in Spain.
Crucially, he wasn’t at the boarding gate when his initial flight eventually left. Because his plane was delayed by more than three hours, the traveller sought the standard 250 euros in compensation from the airline.
In the case of the second passenger, his newly-booked flight actually arrived at his destination less than three hours after the scheduled landing of the original flight.
Essentially, both passengers chose alternative flights which allowed them to arrive at their destinations with a time loss of less than three hours.
The ECJ therefore ruled that neither were entitled to compensation. The court made it clear that, going forward, passengers facing flight delays must still turn up at the airport and check in.
“It follows that passengers whose flight is affected by a long delay are not exempted from the obligation to present themselves for check-in, unlike passengers whose flight is cancelled and for whom such an exemption is expressly laid down in the Air Passenger Rights Regulation,” the court added.
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