It has
been just under ten years since EU Regulation 261/2004 was implemented in the
UK therefore it is surprising how little people know of it. There is an increasing expansion of
organisations who continue to use the regulation to support aviation passengers
in their claims for compensation. Passengers who have suffered delays,
cancellations, or have been denied boarding due to the negligence of their
airline are eligible to claim damages.
Article 7
of the regulation states that passengers shall receive compensation
amounting to - EUR 250 for all flights of 1500 kilometres or less; EUR 400 for
all intra-Community flights of more than 1500 kilometres, and for all other
flights between 1500 and 3500 kilometres and lastly; EUR 600 for all flights
not falling under (a) or (b).
BBC
Watchdog claims that with an estimate of the average pay-out being €430,
there’s a potential pay-out of four billion Euros. This is because over ten
million people are predicted to be eligible to claim. Furthermore claims can be
made as far as six years after the flight in England and Wales (recently
affirmed in Dawson v Thomson Airways Ltd
[2014]) which means passengers can claim concerning flights flown as early
as 2008.
The exemption
(and main defence used by airlines) to paying compensation is ‘extraordinary
circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures
had been taken’. The definition of ‘extraordinary circumstances’ was tackled in
the Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Ronald
Huzar v Jet2.com [2014] where it was concluded that technical faults did
not fall into this exemption. In order to be extraordinary, it was suggested
circumstances would have to be outside the control of the airline with examples
given including terrorism, natural disasters, political instability and hidden
manufacturing defects. The exemption has been narrowed significantly making
cases against airlines more likely to succeed.
Where we
come in
If you
think you qualify for compensation, feel free to contact us on +44 (0) 20 8805
5307 for a no obligation & no win no fee claim.
Written
by Guest Blogger Imran Vazifdar