Judge rules bird strikes not ‘extraordinary circumstances’
Passengers whose flights are delayed by bird strikes are entitled to compensation from airlines, it was decided today.
In the latest legal blow to airlines, a judge at Manchester County Court ruled that bird strikes aren’t rare enough to be classed as an ‘extraordinary circumstance’.
Thomas Cook Airlines had tried to use this as an excuse to avoid paying compensation to passenger Timothy Ash and others whose flight from Turkey in 2011 was delayed more than five hours.
However, district Judge Iyer ordered Thomas Cook Airlines to pay Mr Ash and four others about £310 each.
In his ruling, the judge said: "For my part I observe that the word used is ‘extraordinary’ rather than ‘unexpected’, ‘unforeseeable’, ‘unusual’ or even ‘rare’. Extraordinary to me denotes something beyond unusual.
"A motorway collision between two cars on a motorway is unusual but not extraordinary, whereas a motorway collision between a car, and say, a horse would be extraordinary.
"Bird strikes happen every day, in fact many times a day, and would hardly be worthy of comment but for the delay which they cause.
"They do not fall within the same category as a motorway collision between a car and my previous example of a horse, which would be extraordinary, for the simple reason that our skies are populated with birds, whereas our roads are not populated with horses."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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