Thomson defeat leaves airlines facing huge compensation bill

Airlines face a compensation bill of up to £4 billion after a court today ruled that passengers could claim for flight delays that occurred up to six years ago.

The Court of Appeal dismissed Thomson Airways’ appeal, which had argued that airlines are governed by the Montreal Convention that gives passengers only two years to make a claim.

It also refused leave to appeal.

Upholding a ruling by Cambridge County Court, Lord Justices Moore-Bick, Kitchen and Fulford ordered Thomson to compensate passenger James Dawson and his partner €1,200 for an eight-hour delay to a flight to the Dominican Republic in 2006.

Mr Dawson had originally made the claim in 2012, but it was rejected by Thomson on the grounds that international law states that claims must be made within two years.

However, the Court of Appeal accepted an argument by Dawson’s lawyers Bott & Co that section 9 of the Limitation Act 1980 gives UK consumers six years to bring a claim for compensation.

David Bott, senior partner at Bott & Co said: "This is a huge victory for passengers in what has been a David versus Goliath type battle against the airlines.  We welcome the judgment and the much needed guidance it has brought to the flight compensation process here in the UK.  Passengers will now know with far more certainty whether they are entitled to compensation.

"Despite the ruling in favour of consumers, our advice remains the same and that is for anyone who has suffered delays to make their claim as soon as possible after it happened as it makes it easier to access information."

Thomson said it warned that today’s judgment could lead to higher air fares. In a statement, it said:

"As the UK’s most on-time holiday airline, at Thomson Airways our focus continues to be ensuring that our customers reach their destination safely and promptly.

"We believe that it is reasonable to expect that those who perceive they have suffered a real loss as a result of an unfortunate delay should be able to make their claim within two years. We also continue to believe that the law stipulates this and we are therefore surprised by today’s judgment.

"If unchallenged, this judgment could have a significant impact on the entire airline industry and specifically upon the price that all air travellers would need to pay for their flights. We therefore confirm that it is our intention to seek an appeal to the Supreme Court."

It is the second major victory this month for the law firm, which last week won a case against Jet2.com which had tried to avoid compensating a passenger for a delay the airline claimed was due to a technical fault.

The judge in that case ruled that airlines can’t use technical faults as a blanket excuse to avoid compensation passengers for flight delays, paving the way for a flood of claims against airlines. Jet2 has since said it will continue its fight in the Supreme Court.

Bott & Co said this latest victory could cost airlines up to £4 billion as passengers can now submit compensation claims for delays dating back to 2008, four years longer than airlines previously permitted.

They estimated over 11 million passengers could have valid claims of an average of €435.