Pakistan air space closure
#61
Join Date: May 2017
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Just been hit by this. Now I wonder how clear it really is that we are talking about "unforeseen circumstances" since this is going on for months. I find it a bit unfair that AY on the one hand side are not change the flight times officially (so everyone has the right to cancel his flights free of charge) and on the other hand side they play the "unforeseen circumstances" card and no one hit by this will get any kind of compensation.
If you booked your flight before the closure of the airspace, then the delay is caused by something exceptional. AY has had plenty of time to rebook passengers, and depending on what alternative flights there are available, AY might or might not have take all reasonable measures to avoid the delay, so compensation could still be due.
If you booked your flight after the closure of the airspace, then it is not something exceptional unless you have reasonable reasons to believe that the airspace will reopen before the flight's departure. Instead, it is bad planning if AY doesn't publish accurate timetables.
I think I read somewhere (BA forum?) that Pakistan extends the closure one day at a time with very short notification, so AY would probably argue that they had reasonable reasons to expect that the airspace would reopen. I'd say that this argument loses its credibility after the problem has been going on for a while.,
Unfortunately, it is unclear how a court would argue about this.
#62
Join Date: Feb 2007
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Yep, but I have the gut feeling that a german court could judge in favour of the traveller. In my case it was really bad luck, since our flight was one of the most delayed in the last weeks. We where at the gate (doors not open) a 17:12 with a flying time of 11h14min. Most other delayed flights arrived at around 16:00 with flying times well under 11h
#63
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So, I know which way to go
I think in this case it's really better for both parties to rebook and I wouldn't think about the EU261 route if they'd be supportive, but alas...
#64
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#65
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I'd argue like this...
If you booked your flight before the closure of the airspace, then the delay is caused by something exceptional. AY has had plenty of time to rebook passengers, and depending on what alternative flights there are available, AY might or might not have take all reasonable measures to avoid the delay, so compensation could still be due.
If you booked your flight after the closure of the airspace, then it is not something exceptional unless you have reasonable reasons to believe that the airspace will reopen before the flight's departure. Instead, it is bad planning if AY doesn't publish accurate timetables.
I think I read somewhere (BA forum?) that Pakistan extends the closure one day at a time with very short notification, so AY would probably argue that they had reasonable reasons to expect that the airspace would reopen. I'd say that this argument loses its credibility after the problem has been going on for a while.,
Unfortunately, it is unclear how a court would argue about this.
If you booked your flight before the closure of the airspace, then the delay is caused by something exceptional. AY has had plenty of time to rebook passengers, and depending on what alternative flights there are available, AY might or might not have take all reasonable measures to avoid the delay, so compensation could still be due.
If you booked your flight after the closure of the airspace, then it is not something exceptional unless you have reasonable reasons to believe that the airspace will reopen before the flight's departure. Instead, it is bad planning if AY doesn't publish accurate timetables.
I think I read somewhere (BA forum?) that Pakistan extends the closure one day at a time with very short notification, so AY would probably argue that they had reasonable reasons to expect that the airspace would reopen. I'd say that this argument loses its credibility after the problem has been going on for a while.,
Unfortunately, it is unclear how a court would argue about this.
The EC 261/2004 argument falls afoul of the above. Furthermore, there are no other great options as, on any given day, the limited available routings may be more or less efficient and one takes what one can get.
It is also worth noting that there is no precential authority for the proposition that a carrier must rebook on another carrier's flights.
#66
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The air space is closed on a day-by-day basis (sometimes a few at a time). It is closed by government order. Anybody who suggests that they can peer into the minds of Pakistani authorities as to how they will handle this issue tomorrow or the day after, will have solved one of the most vexing international affairs issues since the 1940's..
#67
Join Date: Sep 2005
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The flight that's most affected is AY121/122 to/from DEL. Flight times are about 2 hours longer each way than usual. Does anyone here have any recent experience whether they've updated the catering to reflect the longer flying times?
Right now, the planned opening date is April 24. Remains to be seen whether the closure is further extended.
Right now, the planned opening date is April 24. Remains to be seen whether the closure is further extended.
#68
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The airspace has been opened a bit and the southern PK airspace is no open for transit which significantly helped the S.E. Asia - Europe traffic. Airlines are not changing the schedules because they will otherwise lose their slots enroute. EU261 comp doesn't apply at all.
#69
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This is my understanding and interpretation as well. This very much falls into the category of extraordinary circumstances and AY has no say in this – if they had, I'm sure they'd fly the shorter route starting immediately as they're losing a lot of money with all these detours in place.
However, for those losing connections, AY is still responsible for food, drinks, communications and accommodation even if no set cash compensation is due.
However, for those losing connections, AY is still responsible for food, drinks, communications and accommodation even if no set cash compensation is due.
#70
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And it just don t matter what anyone of us think about it, only a judge can answer that question, and most likely no one will go that way, since there is a certain risk in it.
#71
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#72
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#73
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If they had announced a six-month closure, for instance, then of course after a certain "sudden and unexpected" period, airlines could and would have altered their schedules and rebooked accordingly. The problem is that as far as I know, Pakistan keeps extending the closure every few days, and only for a couple of days at a time, so no airline will change their schedules semi-permanently and add 1-2 hours extra when you never know how long this circumstance is in place.
#74
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The airspace has been opened a bit and the southern PK airspace is no open for transit which significantly helped the S.E. Asia - Europe traffic. Airlines are not changing the schedules because they will otherwise lose their slots enroute. EU261 comp doesn't apply at all.
#75
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A reasonable thing for AY to do would be to allow customers to make changes 48 hours before departure. That's a relatively small window. It would be helpful for pax (at least the pax in the know) but wouldn't be too costly for AY.