Don't Let a Delay Ruin Your Holiday.

It has been just under ten years since EU Regulation 261/2004 was implemented in the UK therefore it is surprising how little people know of it.  There is an increasing expansion of organisations who continue to use the regulation to support aviation passengers in their claims for compensation. Passengers who have suffered delays, cancellations, or have been denied boarding due to the negligence of their airline are eligible to claim damages.

Article 7 of the regulation states that passengers shall receive compensation amounting to - EUR 250 for all flights of 1500 kilometres or less; EUR 400 for all intra-Community flights of more than 1500 kilometres, and for all other flights between 1500 and 3500 kilometres and lastly; EUR 600 for all flights not falling under (a) or (b).

BBC Watchdog claims that with an estimate of the average pay-out being €430, there’s a potential pay-out of four billion Euros. This is because over ten million people are predicted to be eligible to claim. Furthermore claims can be made as far as six years after the flight in England and Wales (recently affirmed in Dawson v Thomson Airways Ltd [2014]) which means passengers can claim concerning flights flown as early as 2008.

The exemption (and main defence used by airlines) to paying compensation is ‘extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken’. The definition of ‘extraordinary circumstances’ was tackled in the Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Ronald Huzar v Jet2.com [2014] where it was concluded that technical faults did not fall into this exemption. In order to be extraordinary, it was suggested circumstances would have to be outside the control of the airline with examples given including terrorism, natural disasters, political instability and hidden manufacturing defects. The exemption has been narrowed significantly making cases against airlines more likely to succeed.

Where we come in

If you think you qualify for compensation, feel free to contact us on +44 (0) 20 8805 5307 for a no obligation & no win no fee claim.

Written by Guest Blogger Imran Vazifdar