Judge rules bird strikes are extraordinary circumstances
Airlines have won an important court battle over whether a bird strike counts as an ‘extraordinary circumstance’ in relation to compensation claims.
Judges at the Court of Justice of the European Union have ruled that airlines won’t have to pay out if a flight is delayed or cancelled as a result of bird strike damage.
The decision will be legally binding throughout Europe and will hold precedent in UK cases.
Thousands of air passengers throughout Europe have had their claims placed on hold pending the outcome of this week’s ruling.
Claims company EUclaim believes the ruling will save the airline industry £60 million this year, based on the number of claims on hold.
Its UK manager Adeline Noorderhaven said: "This ruling is very disappointing and completely contradicts the advice of Advocate General Yves Bot last year, who recommended that because of the frequency with which these types of incidents occur, such bird strikes must be considered as inherent to the exercise of the activity of an airline.”
Kevin Clarke, flight delay legal expert at Bott & Co, said: “This is not the decision we were hoping for, but nonetheless it is clarity from the highest court in Europe who have found that bird strikes are an extraordinary circumstance.
“We are particularly disappointed because we have a track record of winning bird strike cases in the UK, even to appeal level. We’ll be taking a long look at this judgment in the coming days to work out the best course of action for our clients and all UK passengers.”
The European courts were asked to clarify the terms of EU Regulation 261/2004 after the Czech bird strike case of Marcela Peskova, Jiri Peska versus Travel Service A.S.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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