Extraordinary Circumstances and Birds Strikes in Aviation
COMPENSATION V SAFETY
Extraordinary Circumstances and Birds Strikes in Aviation
The number of people claiming compensation in the case of a flight delay is on the increase , regardless as to the reason of the delay . Being a private pilot myself , there is always a sentence in my mind “ Better late than never ”. I want to believe that airlines and commercial pilots have also clear in their minds their priorities and in particular their obligation to ensure safety and security of its passengers , without rushing the aircraft checks and maintenance requirements .
The aviation industry has had a long time dispute as the events which may or may not give a right to compensation , in particular in cases of long delays . In 2009 , the European Court of Justice ( ECJ ) defined long delays as a delay of more than 3 hours . Therefore , air passengers who suffer a delay in a flight of 3 hours or more , are entitled to claim compensation for the delay .
Air carriers , however , can still avoid paying compensation if they could prove extraordinary circumstances . The meaning of extraordinary circumstances has been ambiguous and for a long time without a uniform interpretation .
To summarise the law , in the case of delay of more than 3 hours , the air carrier is liable for compensation unless it took all reasonable measures to avoid the damage or it was impossible to take such measures . Reg No 261 / 2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights (“ Reg 261 / 2004 ”), states that the obligations on the air carriers should be limited or excluded in cases where an event has been caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken . On general terms , those circumstances can be identified with events such as political instability , some meteorological conditions , security risks , unexpected flight safety deficiencies and strikes which may affect the operations of the aircraft . Reg 261 / 2004 continues to say that extraordinary circumstances should be deemed to exist where the impact of an air traffic management decision in relation to a particular aircraft on a particular day gives rise to a long delay , an overnight delay , or the cancellation of one or more flights by that aircraft , even though all reasonable measures had been taken by the air carrier concentered to avoid the delays or cancellations .
Reg 261 / 2004 therefore expressly excludes the right to compensation if the air carrier can prove that the cancellation or delay was caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken . In a previous article , we reviewed the Court of Appeal decision in the case of Huzar v Jet2 . com Limited of June 2014 . The court held that when determining whether a delay or cancellation was caused by extraordinary circumstances , the circumstances must be out of the ordinary . To be out of the ordinary , it must come from events which by the nature or origin are not inherent in the normal exercise of the activities of the
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