Airline responsible for reporting flight cancellation

An airline must be able to prove that a passenger was notified of the cancellation of a flight at least two weeks before its departure time, otherwise it will be obliged to pay compensation. This also applies to consumers who booked their tickets through a travel agency.

A joyful woman with a shaved head is smiling widely, holding a passport with visible boarding passes

European Court ruling

This was the ruling of the European Court of Justice in the case of a passenger versus Surinam Airways (SLM). The man booked a ticket for a return flight between Amsterdam and Paramaribo for 14 November 2014 online through a travel agency.

The airline informed the travel agency of the flight’s cancellation on 9 October 2014. The travel agency did not notify the traveller until 4 November.

Compensation cancelled flight

The traveller claimed a sum of €600 from the airline because he was informed of the cancellation later than two weeks before his scheduled departure time. SLM refused to pay and said the travel agency was responsible. The travel agency disagreed.

The Court ruled that it was the airline’s responsibility to notify the passenger. “As soon as an airline is unable to prove that it informed the passenger of the cancellation of a scheduled flight more than two weeks before its scheduled departure time, the airline is obliged to pay the compensation provided for in the regulation”, the Court stated.

The airline does have the option of recovering the compensation from the tour operator.