European Court clarifies definition of “flight distance”
For longer flight delays, passengers often have a right to financial compensation. The amount of the compensation is based on the flight distance, but does this mean the number of travelled kilometres or the shortest distance between the point of departure and arrival? The European Court ruled the latter.
The European Court of Justice recently ruled in the matter of a passenger versus Brussels Airlines. The woman had booked a flight with Brussels Airlines from Rome to Brussels and a connecting flight to Hamburg. The first flight was delayed, causing the woman to miss her connecting flight as well. As a result, the woman arrived at her destination four hours later than expected.
Flight claim
The traveller claimed a sum of €400 from the airline based on the total covered distance between Rome and Brussels and between Brussels and Hamburg. Brussels Airlines argued that it was only required to pay €250 for the distance between Rome and Hamburg. Their dispute gave the Court of Justice the task of clarifying the definition of “flight distance”. Is it determined based on the distance between the point of departure and arrival or the flight distance actually travelled?
European Court ruling
The Court ruled that for the calculation of the distance of a flight, we must refer to the distance between the airport of departure and the destination, regardless of the flight distance that has actually been covered.
“When determining the amount of the compensation, only the distance between the airport of the first departure and the destination should be considered, thus not taking any connecting flights into account”, the Court stated.
Want to know more? Read the entire ruling of the Court of Justice C-559/16.