Compensation now also available for flights outside the EU

Passengers that endure sever delays during a direct flight outside of the EU, following one that originated in the EU, do now also have right to compensation.

The Court of Justice of the European Union

This has been decided upon by the European Union Court of Justice. They were faced with a case of 11 Czech passengers who wanted to travel to Bangkok. They had a transfer in Abu Dhabi. The second part of their flight, so from Abu Dhabi to Bangkok had a delay of 488 minutes. Because the airlines refused to give a compensation, the passengers took the case to court.

The Czech Court was unsure how to handle the case and therefore it requested advice from the European Union Court of Justice. That Court stated that, at least in this case, the two flights had been booked as a joint package. Therefore, the first airline, which the passengers used to the leave the EU was liable for the damages. Therefore, the passengers should be paid compensation. However, the Court also decided that the first airline could be able to claim the damages with the second airline that caused the delay.

The current situation

According to the current European law passengers are entitled to receive compensation of 250 to 600 euro’s if their flight is delayed at least three hours. As for now it is unclear whether the same amounts will fly if the passengers then board a plane to a new destination.