Passenger rights remain in case of technical problems

Defective spare parts

Corina van der Lans had a ticket reservation on a flight operated by KLM. This flight from Quito (Ecuador) to Amsterdam (Netherlands) arrived in Amsterdam with a delay of 29 hours. When a flight is delayed for a couple of hours passengers may be entitled to receive a financial compensation. Therefore Corina van der Lans claimed the compensation from KLM. However, the airline rejected this. According to KLM the delay was due to extraordinary circumstances, namely a combination of faults; there were two defective spare parts and these parts had to be flown into Ecuador so the unit could be repaired. Besides, KLM noticed that the defective parts were not yet over their average life time and the manufacturer had not warned the airline for possible problems.

The case is submitted with the court in Amsterdam. The judge decided to refer to the Court of Justice and asked whether a technical problem which suddenly occurs may fall under the term extraordinary circumstances.

Unforeseen event

The Court acknowledged that a premature defect of some spare parts is indeed an unexpected event. However, according to the Court of Justice this unexpected event is “inherent in the normal exercise of an air carrier’s activity, as an airline is faced with this kind of unexpected technical problems frequently.”

Besides, an airline may be able to prevent such technical problems, because she has already been responsible for the maintenance and proper functioning of the aircraft.

Exceptions

Exceptions will still remain. In case of certain technical problems which are caused by hidden manufacturer defects, or sabotage or terrorism, an airline is not obliged to compensate the passengers.