Rule: Non-EU airlines must pay for delays, according to Brussels court

Three passengers have booked a flight from Brussels (Belgium) to San Jose (USA) in Newark (USA) through a travel agency with Lufthansa – the entire flight operated by United Airlines. All three passengers arrived at their destination 223 minutes late and are entitled to compensation under EU law. However, United Airlines initially resisted.

Non-EU airlines are required to pay compensation for flights to or from Europe
The victims filed a lawsuit against United Airlines in Brussels court. The court explained that the EU rules on the rights of air travelers also apply to non-EU airlines. Today’s judgment reads as follows.

First, an aircraft with one or more connecting aircraft, subject to a single reservation, creates a company for the purposes of the passenger’s right to compensation under EU law.

The applicability of the Air Passenger Rights Regulation should be assessed in relation to the original place of departure and the final destination of the aircraft.

நீதிமன்றம் The court ruled that a non-EU air carrier (United Airlines) should not enter into an agreement with the passenger, but should pay compensation to the passenger operating the flight.

இயக்க The air carrier that decides to operate a particular aircraft, including determining the flight path, is part of the passenger transport business.

This aircraft carrier is therefore considered to be operating on behalf of the contract air carrier (Lufthansa). However, the Court emphasizes that the operating air carrier (United Airlines), which is obliged to pay compensation to a passenger, reserves the right to seek compensation from any person, including a third party, under applicable national law.

நீதிமன்றம் The Court noted that in the light of the principle of conventional international law, each state has absolute and exclusive sovereignty over its airspace in the validity of the Air Passenger Rights Regulation, and that a connecting aircraft falls within regulatory limits. Passengers depart from an airport launched in a member country.

“We are pleased that the Court has been able to strengthen the rights of global air travelers through this ruling. Again, non-European airlines seek to circumvent EU law and avoid liability. Judgments like these make our job so much easier because we can always refer to them in future cases, ”said Julian Navas, a legal expert at AirHelp, the world’s largest airline rights organization.

Source: PM AirHelp