Court of Justice: compensation for flight cancellation due to co-pilot’s unexpected death
If a flight is cancelled, in most cases passengers will be entitled to receive compensation from the airline. A cancellation due to the unexpected death of the aircraft’s co-pilot is no exception, rules the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Flight cancellation
A flight from Stuttgart to Lisbon carried out by the Portuguese airline TAP was cancelled on the date of departure. The reason: the aircraft’s co-pilot had sadly been found dead in his hotel bed. Passengers were booked onto a replacement flight later that day.
Some passengers requested compensation for the cancellation of their flight, but TAP refused to pay out. The airline claimed the sudden death of the co-pilot was an ‘extraordinary circumstance’. In such situations outside of the airline’s control, airlines are not required to pay compensation.
However, the passengers did not agree and took their case to court in Germany. The German court asked the Court of Justice to clarify the concept of ‘extraordinary circumstances’ in order to answer the question if a co-pilot’s sudden death counts as such an extraordinary circumstance.
Court of Justice
Is a co-pilot’s sudden death an extraordinary circumstance? It is not, rules the Court of Justice. Although the unforeseeable death of a crew member is tragic, airlines are required to keep a certain number of replacement staff available. Working schedules should account for unexpected situations.
If a crew member falls ill shortly before departure, it is the airline’s responsibility to arrange for replacement staff. This is no different from the unforeseeable death of a crew member: the question is about whether a staff member is present or not. The Court rules it is part of the airline’s business operations to arrange for replacement staff. A flight cancellation due to the sudden death of a crew member is not an extraordinary circumstance. The airline needs to compensate its passengers.
The fact that the co-pilot had passed regular medical examinations without restrictions, did not change the situation. Any member of staff could, at any time, unexpectedly fall ill or die.
Want to know more?
Find more information about the cases C-156/22 and C-158/22 on the Infocuria website (case law of the Court of Justice).