When lightning strikes cause delays, airlines may have to compensate passengers, the High Court has held, in a case that potentially could lead to 54,000 individual claims.
In Evans v Monarch Airlines Ltd at Reading County Court on 14 January (unreported), Judge Melissa Clarke held that lightning strikes are not one of the “extraordinary circumstances” that excuse airlines from paying flight delay compensation. She awarded the passengers €600 (£450) each for a five hour flight delay.
Under European Flight Delay Regulation EC 261/2004, passengers delayed by three hours or more in the last six years can claim up to €600 compensation, as long as the delay was not caused by extraordinary circumstances. The regulation does not define the term, "extraordinary circumstances".
Bott & Co Solicitors, who acted for Michael Evans, say the ruling could benefit 54,000 delayed passengers, totalling £17.6m in flight delay compensation. This calculation is based on Civil Aviation Authority statistics that 13.5 million passengers in the past six years were delayed for three hours or more, 80% can potentially lead to claims, and 0.5% of delays are caused by lightning.
While the decision is not legally binding, the firm points out that it “is the lead case on the issue of lightning strikes. As such, the decision will be highly persuasive in flight delay cases involving lightning in English and Welsh courts”.
Kevin Clarke, litigation executive at Bott & Co, says: “Bad weather is not the airline’s fault, but the law says it is their responsibility.”
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