KLM loses case over flight delay compensation
KLM has lost a case at the European Court of Justice in the long-running dispute over compensation for flight delays.
The ruling means airlines will still have to pay out for ‘spontaneous technicial issues’ as they don’t qualify as extraordinary circumstances.
Following Jet2.com’s defeat in the UK Supreme Court last year, airlines have been forced to compensate passengers for technical faults, so long as there aren’t hidden manufacturing defects.
However, the Dutch courts have since asked the European Court of Justice to rule on the case of Van der Lans v KLM.
In this case, KLM argued that passengers should not be paid compensation where delays are caused by spontaneous faults, as opposed to those picked up by routine maintenance.
Flight delay lawyers Bott & Co said yesterday’s ruling against KLM benefits tens of millions of delayed passengers throughout Europe.
"The fact that the same issue has had to go to the ECJ despite the Supreme Court ruling shows the lengths the airline industry will go to avoid paying out on valid claims," it said.
In February this year, Bott & Co won a case at Liverpool Country Court to prevent airlines from putting claims on hold until after this week’s ruling in the Van der Lans v KLM case.
European Regulation EC 261/2004 entitles passengers to up to €600 if they are delayed by three hours or more.
The only defence an airline has against paying compensation is when the delay was caused by an ‘extraordinary circumstance’.’¨
Van der Lans v KLM is now one of the highest rulings on the issue of technical problems and is binding on all European courts. Ԭ
Kevin Clarke at Bott & Co added: "The vast majority of technical defects are spontaneous and unpredictable; that is the nature of air travel.
"If there are any signs whatsoever that a part on a plane is on the verge of breaking, it is automatically replaced.
"On that basis, if KLM had won, the vast majority of technical problems might have been classed as extraordinary circumstances."
Nathan Stower, chief executive of the British Air Transport Association, blamed the ongoing court battles on the regulations themselves, saying they are badly drafted and confusing.
"Regulation helps to ensure minimum standards of care and compensation, but the rules should be clear, unambiguous and proportionate. Today’s ECJ judgment is the latest in a long line of cases heard by courts at various levels in the UK and across Europe which shows the current regulation fails these tests," he said.
"This is because it was badly drafted, leaving it open to wide interpretation and causing considerable legal uncertainty and confusion which has not been good for passengers or airlines.
"Much needed reform of the regulation is underway in Brussels, but progress has stalled due to disagreements between member states. These differences must now be urgently resolved to allow the necessary reforms to proceed."
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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