Originally Posted by
Often1
I'm not sure how OP makes the jump from a sick pilot to "everything" is force majeure. It strikes me as a classic example of an extraordinary circumstance at a location where one would not expect this carrier to have backup crew stationed.
As far as I always understood, Force Majeur is a major event completely out of control of the parties - natural disaster, terrorist attack, bad weather etc. Other things I can think of like a labor strike or airport running out of de-icing fluid during the winter (happened to me years ago). That's outside of the airline's control. I would argue that anything related to the crew or plane falls within the airline's control. Otherwise couldn't they always claim Force Majeur? Plane has a technical issue and that wasn't expected. Force majeur! We unexpectedly didn't sell enough tickets and decided to cancel a flight. Extraordinary circumstance. Force Majeur etc...