Arab-Canadian public speaking coach and author of The Million Dollar Speaker Maher Elusini on how to make your speech command value for time and money
“The fact that the original flight was not delayed beyond the limits laid down by EU law does not affect the right to compensation,” the EU Court of Justice ruled on Tuesday. The Luxembourg-based court’s ruling can’t be appealed.
The EU tribunal has in recent years been asked to clarify the bloc’s law on compensation duties for airlines in a series of cases that were triggered by passenger compensation requests. The court has ruled in previous cases involving Deutsche Lufthansa, EasyJet and TUI Travel that passengers who arrive “three hours or more after the scheduled arrival time” have a right to compensation, except in “extraordinary” circumstances.
In Tuesday’s case, Luz-Tereza Folkerts is seeking compensation from Air France after arriving 11 hours late in Asuncion, Paraguay, on a flight that took her from Bremen, Germany, to Paris, France, and from Paris to Rio de Janeiro.
Air France is appealing an earlier compensation order and the German tribunal handling the case asked the EU court whether the compensation duty still applied if the first leg of the flight was only delayed by 2.5 hours and as a result the passenger missed her connecting flight.
The EU court in 2009 ruled that airlines have to compensate passengers who reach their final destination that much later because of a flight delay. Carriers are exempt from compensation in cases of extraordinary circumstances, such as a strike or bad weather conditions.
Tuesday’s ruling is one of more than 30 cases at the court on passenger rights, said Viktoria Vajnai, a spokeswoman for the Association of European Airlines, said in an e-mail.
“This is a clear evidence that the current regulation is not coherent, and it is substantiated by the patchwork of ECJ rulings,” Vajnai said. The European Commission is planning to review rules on passenger rights and airlines will contribute to legislators’ debate on the issue to represent airlines’ interests, she said.
Air France said it took note of the court ruling and declined to comment further, according to a company spokesman who asked not to be identified in line with the firm’s policy.
Arab-Canadian public speaking coach and author of The Million Dollar Speaker Maher Elusini on how to make your speech command value for time and money
The legendary Greek-Russian conductor Teodor Currentzis, who is all set to perform at the Dubai Opera next week, on music transcending cultural and language barriers
Not every kid is meant to go to university or college. So, it makes sense to teach them entrepreneurial skills early
Some hotels quote Dh1,000 to Dh8,000 for standard hotel room that would usually start at around Dh345 per night
When feeling stuck in life, it's important to revise your thinking patterns
A guide on the channels to report complaints about violations at your workplace
The standout performances came from Arwa Saleh, Mohammed Al-Dhahouri and Amna Al-Loughani on the Taekwondo mat
The story of a non-resident Bangladeshi family establishing and running the famed perfume company Al Haramain and its successful subsidiaries