Court of Justice: compensation for passenger also applies in case of no-show after airline announces denied boarding

Passenger refused by airline

A passenger would fly from Frankfurt to Madrid. She wanted to check in the day before departure, but this was not possible. When she contacted LATAM Airlines, they told her that she was rebooked on another flight. That flight departed a day earlier. She was not informed about the rebooking. Because she did not show up for that flight, the airline had also cancelled her return flight. The flight back would depart more than two weeks later. 

Financial compensation

As the passenger was refused on the flight back, she claimed a compensation of 250€ with LATAM for this denial of boarding. Usually, a passenger is denied boarding short before departure of the flight. However, in this case, the airline had informed the passenger more than two weeks in advance that she would be denied on this flight. Does she still have a right to compensation if she was informed in a timely manner? If so, does she need to appear at the check-in desk to be eligible for this compensation? The Court of Justice addresses these questions.

Court of Justice

If a passenger is denied boarding without a good reason, then the airline must pay a compensation for this refusal of boarding. The Court of Justice confirms that this also applies if the airline has informed the passenger about this in advance. In this case, the passenger does not need to show up at the check-in desk first to qualify for a compensation. According to the Court of Justice, that would be an unnecessary formality. 

What if the airline informs the passenger more than two weeks in advance? Would the right to compensation for denied boarding then still apply? The Court of Justice confirms that it does. A passenger can also claim compensation if they were informed more than two weeks in advance. There is a rule that says that an airline does not have to compensate for flight cancellations if the passenger is informed more than two weeks in advance. However, this rule is not applicable to denied boarding. So, if you are informed about a flight cancellation more than two weeks in advance, you cannot claim compensation. But if the airline denies boarding without a good reason, you have a right to compensation regardless of how far in advance you were informed about this.

Want to know more? 

You can read the full judgement, C-238/22, on the website of InfoCuria (Case Law from the Court of Justice).