Air passenger compensation for flight delay: can the lack of airport staff constitute an “extraordinary circumstance”? Emmanuelle Hober Zaffran1 1. Introduction. 2. The concept of extraordinary circumstances. 3. The concept of reasonable measures. The case involves Touristic Aviation Services Limited (TAS) and Flightright GmbH, where Flightright sought compensation from TAS for a flight delay of 3 hours and 49 minutes. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) was asked to determine if the lack of airport staff for baggage loading constituted an “extraordinary circumstance” that could exempt TAS from compensation. The CJEU ruled that such a lack of staff could indeed be considered an “extraordinary circumstance”. Keywords: Extraordinary circumstances, flight delay, compensation, airport staff shortage. 1. INTRODUCTION More than twenty years after the entry into force of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights, the courts are still debating on its interpretation, and in particular the concept of "extraordinary circumstances" and the interpretation of Article 5(3), which provides that: 1. In case of cancellation of a flight, the passengers concerned shall […] (c) have the right to compensation by the operating air carrier in accordance with Article 7, unless: DOI 10.60559/ijtthl2024-015 1Attorney at law, founding partner of EHZ Avocats, emmanuelle@ehz-avocats.com.
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