Court of Justice clarifies jurisdiction court compensation claim
In a judgement, the European Court of Justice clarifies which court has jurisdiction to deal with a claim for compensation in the event of flight delay or cancellation. The ruling applies to air travel consisting of several connecting flights operated by different airlines, if this trip was bought in a single booking.
Financial compensation flight cancellation
Two passengers buy three connecting flights in one booking. These flights are operated by different airlines. The passengers fly with British Airways from Hamburg to London. The Spanish airline Iberia operates the connecting two flights from London to Madrid and from Madrid to San Sebastian. During the last flight from Madrid to San Sebastian things go wrong. Iberia cancels the flight, the passengers submit a claim for financial compensation of € 250 per person.
Jurisdiction court for processing the compensation claim
The passengers retain a claims office that starts legal proceedings against Iberia. The claim office submits a request to the local court in Hamburg because this is where the air trip started. Can a German court deal with this compensation claim and decide on a cancelled flight in Spain? And to which company should the claim be filed: British Airways or Iberia? The European Court of Justice clarifies this in a judgement.
Judgement of the European Court of Justice
The Court explains that a passenger who has made a single booking for several flights operated by different airlines may bring a claim before the court in the country where the trip began. For passengers, this means that they may file a claim in Germany despite the fact that the flight was cancelled in Spain. The claim must be addressed to Iberia because they were supposed to execute the original flight.
Case law of the Court of Justice
Read the full ruling of the Court (case C-606/19) on the Infocuria website.