EU court finds airlines can’t dodge payouts just by blaming traffic control
The EU's top court ruled that airlines can't automatically dodge compensation for long delays just by pointing to air traffic control restrictions; they must show the underlying cause was truly outside their control. The case involved LOT Polish Airlines and a passenger whose Izmir to Warsaw flight arrived three hours and seven minutes late, just over the compensation threshold.
The court overturned a more airline-friendly General Court interpretation from January, while preserving severe weather as a valid defense. It also ruled that delay time attributable to a qualifying exceptional event can be subtracted from the total, which could still leave this particular passenger under the three-hour line.
Lawyers quoted in the piece disagree on how much this actually changes, with one calling it mainly about consistent application rather than expanded rights, and another warning the ruling leaves room for divergent interpretations across the bloc.
The full dispatch is available from the source below.