Flight Delay in US: Airline Pays

ECJ strengthens passenger rights in case of flight delay: Even if there is a delay in a third country, there can still be a right to compensation.

Vienna Flight delays are annoying – and airlines’ willingness to compensate passengers for such inconveniences is even lower. Judgment of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) Is now strengthening the rights of air travelers and consumer advocates are sighing with relief.

Basically seeking compensation EUPassenger rights can be regulated even if there is a delay during travel in the territory of a third country and the airline is located outside the EU. If the delay is more than three hours, the flight is considered “canceled”. The ECJ ruled that passengers could receive up to 600 euros in compensation (C-561/20).

This is a legal battle that has been dragging on for a long time, and it is about a case from 2018 onwards. Three people are involved. Lufthansa Booked a trip from Brussels to San Jose (USA) with a reservation, but with a stop in Newark on both legs.
American Airlines operated two part-time flights United Airlines By The second part of the trip was delayed due to technical glitches, with a delay of 223 minutes on arrival in San Jose.

Violate international law?

American Airlines is not yet ready to pay compensation to passengers. The delay was only in the second phase of the trip to the United States – and he argued that EU regulation did not apply there. The dispute was settled out of court in Brussels, and it is unclear whether EU rules apply to the aircraft.

On the one hand, it asked the ECJ if there was a leg delay of a flight operating outside the Union Territory – and on the other hand, whether the rights of air passengers were subject to regulation. Union based. The court expressed concern that the use of EU law in such a case could violate international law and the policy of exclusive sovereignty of each state in its airspace.

The ECJ made it clear at two points: the location of the delay will have no effect on the validity of EU compensation rules, which are the same for flights connecting the booked flight and the original departure point located in the Union. Such a plane with transmission should be considered as a whole. And even if there is a delay in the first or second leg of the journey, it is not a bar for the passengers and it equates to the same inconvenience for them.

In such a situation, it is also irrelevant whether the operating airline is EU based. It is only appropriate if the flight is from a third country territory to an EU country.
According to the ruling, there is no violation of international law: in order to use the discipline, one must be in close contact with the Union, and if the place of departure is in an EU country, that is the case.

(“Die Press”, print edition, April 9, 2022)