Airlines will hear tomorrow whether they will be able to avoid paying passengers compensation for long flight delays caused by technical faults when the European Court of Justice delivers its ruling in a case put before it by the Dutch courts.
Following Jet2.com’s defeat in the UK Supreme Court last year, airlines have been forced to compensate passengers for technical faults, so long as they aren’t hidden manufacturing defects.
The Supreme Court ruled that technical faults could not be considered to be ‘unforseen circumstances’, opening the floodgates to previously rejected claims from passengers, some of which dated back six years.
However, the Dutch courts have asked the ECJ to rule on a case involving KLM, in which the airline is arguing that passengers should not be paid compensation where delays are caused by spontaneous faults, as opposed to those picked up by routine maintenance.
As the ECJ is a higher court than the Supreme Court in the UK, the outcome of this case could affect the interpretation of flight delay law in England and Wales, affecting thousands of passengers.
Flight compensation solicitors Bott & Co said: "If the ECJ rules in favour of consumers, passengers will be able to carry on claiming for all technical issues (not including hidden manufacturing defects).
"If it rules in favour of the airlines, passengers in England and Wales could find it much more difficult to make a claim, as the law surrounding technical issues would become significantly more complex."
In February this year, Bott & Co won a case at Liverpool Country Court to prevent airlines from putting claims on hold until after this week’s ruling in the Van der Lans v KLM case.
