ECJ: Air Passenger Rights – No Compensation after Rebooking

Feb 23, 2024 Benn-Ibler Rechtsanwälte

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has decided whether a passenger who booked an alternative flight due to an imminent long delay is entitled to compensation under the Air Passenger Rights Regulation (261/2004).

In 2019, the plaintiff booked a flight with Ryanair from Duesseldorf, Germany, to Palma de Mallorca in Spain and back. When he was informed by the defendant, Laudamotion, that there would be a six-hour delay in his flight, he booked a replacement flight. Thanks to this alternative flight, his delay was less than three hours instead of six hours.

On the basis of Articles 5(1)(c) and 7(1) of the Regulation on the Rights of Air Passengers, the plaintiff claimed compensation of EUR 250. Both the court of first instance and the court of appeal considered that Laudamotion was not obliged to pay compensation as the plaintiff had not boarded the original flight and had reached his destination with a delay of less than three hours. However, the plaintiff was entitled to compensation for the cost of the replacement flight under German civil law.

The referring court, the German Federal Court of Justice, referred the question to the ECJ for a preliminary ruling, asking whether the plaintiff was entitled to compensation under the Passenger Rights Regulation in addition to his civil law claim for reimbursement of costs.

In the opinion of the ECJ, there is no such right to compensation. According to established case law, Articles 5 and 7 of the Regulation on the Rights of Air Passengers must be interpreted in such a way that passengers whose flights are delayed by at least three hours and those whose flights are cancelled are treated equally. They all suffer damage in the form of an irreversible loss of time. This loss can only be compensated by payment of compensation. It is for these reasons that the applicant is not entitled to any additional payment of compensation. Thanks to the alternative flight he booked himself, he was able to reach his final destination with a delay of less than three hours.

ECJ C-54/23 (25 January 2024)