Flight Been Delayed? £3.89 Billion To Claim
Many of us have experienced the misery of a long flight delay disrupting our holiday or jeopardising that important business trip because of, for example, some airline’s ‘technical computer issue’. In the newspapers last weekend, readers would have been delighted to learn that the airline industry is now expected to pay out £3.89 billion for historic claims relating to delayed flights.
Millions of holidaymakers who endure long flight delays will now receive compensation following the landmark court rulings on Friday 31st October. The Supreme Court’s ruling has been hailed as a major victory for holiday makers who have long been fobbed off with excuses by airlines. Two million passengers a year whose flights are delayed by technical faults, could now be entitled to hundreds of pounds each after judges found such problems are the sole responsibility of the airline, which is why the industry is now expected to have to pay out the £3.89 billion for historic claims. Lawyer David Bott, who represented the passengers, said “this is a landmark day”.
“Airlines will be made to face up to their legal responsibility and pay out fair compensation to those who have suffered. We expect hundreds of thousands of people to now come forward and make a claim.” These judgements follow a six year battle between airlines and passengers. Judges rejected separate appeals from airlines Jet2 and Thomson which had been taken to court by angry holidaymakers. Under European law, passengers are entitled to up to £470 in compensation if a flight arrives at their destination more than 3 hours late.
The exception is if the delay is caused by a so-called ‘extraordinary circumstance’ such as bad weather, industrial action or a bird hitting a plane. Airlines have been accused of repeatedly exploiting this rule to wriggle out of paying legitimate claims. They have argued that delays caused by technical faults also count as ‘extraordinary circumstances’ beyond their control, which they said frees them from any obligation to pay. Holidaymakers who had claims rejected on these grounds took the airlines to the Small Claims Court and then to the Court of Appeal.
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Source: Daily Mail Sunday 1/11/14
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