Airlines may be exempt from paying compensation if a flight is severely delayed or canceled due to an unruly passenger, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on Thursday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th June, 2020) Airlines may be exempt from paying compensation if a flight is severely delayed or canceled due to an unruly passenger, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on Thursday.
"The unruly behaviour of an air passenger may constitute an 'extraordinary circumstance' capable of exempting the carrier from its obligation to pay compensation for the cancellation or long delay of the flight concerned or of a subsequent flight operated by that carrier using the same aircraft," the ECJ said in a press release.
Despite this ruling, airlines are still obligated to ensure that passengers whose journeys have been disrupted by an unruly individual are re-routed as soon as possible by either direct or indirect flights operated by the same or another airline, the court said.
The ECJ was asked to make a ruling by a court in Portugal amid a dispute involving the country's flag carrier TAP after a flight was severely delayed after a passenger had to be offloaded for biting people on board.
The European Union established the Flight Compensation Regulation in 2004 that allows passengers to receive between 250 and 600 Euros ($283-$680) compensation if they arrive at their destination more than three hours late.
The measures also allow passengers to claim compensation if they are overbooked, miss a connecting flight due to a delay on a previous connection, or if their flight is canceled less than 14 days before departure.
