Flight cancellations: favorable decision for consumers
BCV Lex is pleased to have obtained compensation for its client after an airline refused to cover the cost of cancelling a flight.
Refund for Flight Cancellation to a Passenger
In this case, our customer had booked flights with an airline to several European cities on different dates.
All the flights were cancelled by the airline. Our customer therefore requested reimbursement of the costs he had incurred for his re-routing, without success.
All amicable approaches having been in vain, the firm brought the matter before the competent court in order to obtain reimbursement of its costs on the basis of European Regulation EC no. 261/2004.
The Law on Flight Cancellation: Right to Refund or Alternative Transport
Article 8 of the aforementioned regulation sets out the options available to passengers for exercising their right to reimbursement or re-routing.
To find out more about these rights, you can read our previous article on the options available to you in the event of flight cancellation by clicking on the following link:
On this occasion, the Court recalled that French passengers could take their case either to the Court at the airline’s head office, or to the Court at the place of departure or arrival of the flight, in accordance with the aforementioned European Regulation.
The documents submitted to the Court showed that our customer had opted to take responsibility for his re-routing. In the absence of any response from the airline, our customer had to organise his own travel and incur costs.
Before the Court, the airline did not dispute that it had cancelled the flight, but considered that as the passenger had been warned a month earlier, he had had time to make his own travel arrangements. The airline therefore considered that it was only obliged to reimburse the ticket for the cancelled flight.
Compensation for Flight Cancellation
However, applying article 8 of the aforementioned Regulation correctly, the Court dismissed the airline’s case and ordered it to reimburse all the costs incurred by the customer in organising his re-routing, i.e. an amount higher than the initial price of the ticket.
Over the years, BCVLex has specialised in aviation law, and we are committed to working with you at every stage of the proceedings. If you or a member of your family has been the victim of a flight cancellation, delay or denied boarding, do not hesitate to contact us.
