A landmark ruling by the European Court of Justice will give air passengers the right to claim compensation from their airline if they are stranded by bad weather. (Featured image by Kevin Prichard Photography)
The decision comes after a claim by a passenger stranded by the volcanic ash cloud in Iceland in 2010 for compensation from Ryanair was upheld by the court.
Denise McDonagh’s flight to Dublin was cancelled as a result of the ash cloud, and she sought compensation of £968 to cover accommodation, transport and meals.
Ryanair lodged an appeal, saying that an airline’s obligation to passengers should be set aside in situations as dramatic as the ash cloud, which saw flights across Europe grounded for a week.
But the European Court rejected this claim, saying that severe weather constitutes ‘extraordinary circumstances’ and as such does not exempt airlines from their obligations.
“The provision of care to passengers is particularly important in the case of ‘extraordinary circumstances’ which persist over a long time,” the court said.
“It is precisely in situations where the waiting period occasioned by the cancellation of a flight is particularly lengthy that it is necessary to ensure that an air passenger can have access to essential goods and services throughout that period.”
The ruling is the second major flight delay and cancellation issue that has gone in favour passengers in last few months.
In October last year, the court ruled that passengers are entitled to compensation of between £200 and £480 if their flight is delayed by more than three hours.
Ryanair has condemned the court’s latest ruling, saying that it will push up fares as airlines are forced to pay out more compensation.
“Today’s ruling by the European Court now makes the airlines the insurer of last resort even when in the majority of cases (such as ATC delays or national strikes in Europe) these delays are entirely beyond an airline’s control,” a Ryanair spokesman said.
“Today’s decision will materially increase the cost of flying across Europe and consumer airfares will increase as airlines will be obliged to recover the cost of these claims from their customers.”
