A delayed landing outside of the European Union does not exclude compensation

Thanks to EU regulations, passengers whose was delayed may claim from EUR 250 to EUR 600 in damages. However, until the end of May it was not clear whether or not flights with a stopover outside the EU were covered by the same rules. The Court of Justice has ruled that in such a situation the airlines also have to compensate for the delay – writes Bernadeta Kasztelan-Świetlik from the GESSEL Attorneys at law.

‘The right to compensation for long delay of a flight also applies to flights connected to a third country with a stopover outside the EU. A change of aircraft at a stopover shall in no way affect two or more flights subject to a single booking as a single connecting flight. ‘ This was the view of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the judgment of 31 May 2018 in Case C-537/17 Claudia Wegener / Royal Air Maroc SA.
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The Court of Justice has held that Regulation No 261/2004 is applicable to the carriage of passengers on the basis of a single reservation, in which between an exit from an airport located on the territory of a Member State (Berlin) and an arrival at an airport located on the territory of a third State (Agadir), there was a planned stopover outside the European Union (Casablanca) with an aircraft change. According to the Court, if two (or more) flights were the subject of a single reservation, they constitute as a whole in relation to passengers’ right to compensation and should be regarded as one and the same (“connecting flight”). A change of aircraft, which may take place during a combined flight, is not relevant in this instance therefore the flight involved in the case in question must be regarded as one combined flight falling within the scope of this Regulation.
It is worth remembering that if have been refused boarding or arrive at your destination with at least a 3-hour delay, you can claim compensation in the amount of EUR 250 to EUR 600 depending on the length of the flight.

Full article (in polish) is available at www.lex.pl