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CAA clarifies law for connecting flights and flight delay compensation | FairPlane UK / 23.02.2017
The Civil Aviation Authority has commenced legal action against 5 airlines for breach of EU consumer law following an investigation into 31 airlines and their treatment of connecting flights when considering flight compensation claims.
The 5 airlines are Emirates, Etihad Airways, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines and American Airlines. All of these 5 had failed to pay compensation for some connecting flights where the onward flight was completely outside the EU.
Flight delay compensation claims and connecting flights
Under the EU law governing flight delay claims, if a passenger is delayed on an initial flight so that they miss a connection and thereby arrive more than 3 hours late at their ultimate destination, they would have a claim for of up to €600 (£510) against the airline for a flight delay. The 5 airlines however failed to pay suggesting that the EU regulations did not apply to connecting flights taking place outside the EU even though the initial flight took place within the EU.
The Court of Appeal is due to decide this point later this year but it looks as though the CAA has made up its mind.
We now hope that all flight claims will be paid even though there is a missed connecting flight outside of the EU.
