Originally Posted by
MB_again
I recently had a precise 3hr 1min delay on an Easyjet flight from Inverness to Luton, for which I made a claim and was given a final response that this was due to ATC restrictions outside their control, and therefore qualified as extraordinary circumstances, i.e. no compensation payable.
So that you are forewarned, this can be fiddly and EC261 says this:
(15) 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 concerned to avoid the delays or cancellations.
I'm not an expert, but if there is a short or moderate ATC delay that simply added to a delay for other reasons, then I guess it might not be an exceptional circumstance. However, if that plane had faced a long ATC delay earlier in the day, it seems unlikely to be straightforward.