European Union Court Defines Delayed Flight Compensation

The European Union’s top court ruled that delayed flight compensation is determined based on when passengers are able to disembark, not when the plane lands.

European flyers now have a clear definition of what situations qualify for delayed flight compensation. On Thursday, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in favor of a traveler suing Germanwings over delay compensation. The flight in question took place in 2012, from Salzburg Airport (SZG) to Cologne Bonn Airport (CGN).

According to Reuters, the lawsuit asserted Germanwings owed travelers the $328 compensation guaranteed by EU law when a flight is delayed by more than three hours. The carrier initially refused to pay because it said the flight landed at CGN two minutes within the time limit.

In the published ruling, the ECJ concluded that arrival time should be noted when passengers are able to leave the aircraft, instead of when the airplane physically arrives. BBC News reported the ruling stated that “the concept of ‘arrival time’, which is used to determine the length of the delay to which passengers on a flight have been subject, refers to the time at which at least one of the doors of the aircraft is opened.”

Representatives for Germanwings were receptive to the ruling. “Germanwings welcomes the verdict,” spokesman Heinz Joachim Schoettes told the Wall Street Journal. “It clarifies an ambiguity that had plagued the interpretation of applicable travel law for a long time. Legal certainty has now been established for everyone.”

According to the EU Passenger Rights website, travelers are entitled to compensation when flying within the EU with an EU carrier or a carrier from Iceland, Norway or Switzerland. Bloomberg reported that the ruling augments a previous judgment, which defined “extraordinary” circumstances that do not qualify for compensation as a labor strike, inclement weather or volcanic activity.

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