Flight delay due to aggressive behaviour of passenger: right to compensation?
In the event of a flight delay of more than three hours or a flight cancellation, affected passengers are often entitled to financial compensation of up to €600. But does this also apply if the delay or cancellation is caused by an aggressive passenger on board? The European Court of Justice clarifies this in a ruling.
About the lawsuit: 'the snappy passenger'
A passenger bought a ticket from the Portuguese Transportes Aéreos Portugueses (TAP) for a flight from Fortaleza (Brazil) to Oslo (Norway) with a stopover in Lisbon (Portugal).
The aircraft with which the passenger was to fly from Fortaleza left for Lisbon too late due to an incident on board an earlier flight. During that earlier flight, a fellow passenger set his teeth into another passenger and physically attacked several people. An emergency landing was inevitable. Due to the delay, the passenger missed the second leg of his flight, and because TAP only flies from Lisbon to Oslo once a day, the passenger arrived in Oslo one day later than planned.
The passenger submitted a claim for compensation to the Portuguese TAP on the basis of Regulation 264/2001. The airline invoked an extraordinary circumstance and rejected the claim. The passenger then went to a Portuguese judge, who in turn sought clarification from the European Court of Justice.
Ruling of the European Court of Justice for this case
The Court explains that compensation applies if the airline has not taken all reasonable measures to avoid the delay. The compensation exemption therefore applies if a flight delay or flight cancellation is the result of an 'extraordinary circumstance' which could not have been avoided despite the taking of all reasonable measures by TAP. Did TAP itself contribute to the disruptive behaviour of the passenger or did it allow this passenger to board while he was already disruptive before or during boarding? In that case, the airline is obliged to pay the compensation to the passengers affected.
But that is not all. Additionally, TAP may only invoke an exception to mandatory compensation if the airline has done everything in its power to get the affected passengers to their destination as quickly as possible. If necessary, with a flight from another airline if it arrives earlier than TAP's next flight.
And back to the Portuguese court...
A passenger who has suffered damage is therefore not always entitled to compensation in the event of a flight delay caused by an aggressive fellow passenger. It is now for the Portuguese court to assess whether, in this situation, TAP has taken sufficient measures to avoid the situation and has used all reasonable means to provide alternative transport.
Case law of the Court of Justice
Read the full ruling of the Court (case C-74/19) on the Infocuria website.