EU 261/2004 to be enforced in Britain(?)

[BigFrank]

I am sure that I heard a fleeting report on BBC 5live today to the effect that a British court had today ordered airlines to stop obfuscating over the concept of "extraordinary circumstances" and start paying up when routine delays of over 3 hours occur.(They interviewed a solicitor from a firm specialising in such claims who asserted that his company alone had 8 000 claims of this nature in the pipe-line.)

I have searched the internet but I cannot find any mention of such a ruling being issued today.

Did anyone else hear it?

Which airlines will be hit hardest by the British judicial authorities belatedly and grudgingly enforcing this EU law?

[Andrewgr2]

BBC News report here: BBC News - Flight delay ruling opens way for compensation payments (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-31641645)

[IB4138]

Details on the Jet 2 thread.

[El Bunto]

Basic logic of the decision:

1. Airliners are complex machines consisting of many smaller complex machines
2. Complex machines often suffer technical failures

Conclusion 1: an airliner risks being impacted by a technical failure

3. The failure of a component may impact the ability of the airliner to operate
4. Airlines comprise a plurality of airliners

Conclusion 2: an airline risks one or more airliners being unable to operate due to technical failures

5. Events are considered ordinary if they are expected to occur in routine course
6. Technical failures are expected to occur in an airline

Conclusion 3: an airline expects technical failures as part of routine course

ergo

Conclusion 4: Technical failure is an ordinary event


A volcano erupting is extraordinary. A meteorite smashing into the airport and wiping-out the fleet is extraordinary. A flap-track sticking is not.

[Swedish Steve]

But this could go the other way.
It is quite common for pedestrians to be knocked over crossing the road.
Therefore there will be no compensation if you get knocked over.

It is quite common for washing machines to leak water.
Therefore there will be no insurance money if your kitchen floor is flooded.

Or it is common knowledge that aircraft are delayed. Therefore there will be no compensation when it happens.

Seems a bit strange to me.

[clipstone1]

it is simple....submit 8,000 delay claims (most of which the compensation will exceed the fare paid for EU flights) and next year all of the airfares increase by 150% of the amount paid out in claims due to the additional cost of dealing with those claims.....

it is bad for scheduled carriers, however they just cancel the flight and pay compensation, for charter, they still have to get the people to the tour operator destination and those in resort back again....they could i guess get a few extra Dreamliners at $125m each to ensure they have capacitry to cover such incidents.....