Passenger wins court case after Monarch rejected claim

Martin Longden received over £ 3200,- compensation after he won a court case, representing himself, against Monarch.

He and his family went to Egypt for a holiday in April 2012 and were delayed for 24 hours on their way back home. The delay occurred when a technical fault (a cracked windshield) was discovered on the incoming plane to pick up Mr Longden and his family. He filed a claim directly with Monarch which they denied, stating that this was an extraordinary circumstance which occurred outside of the maintenance program.

Mr Longden decided to take the case to court, because he did not agree.

Evidence (by Monarch) showed that it took 4 hours to get a replacement windscreen to Gatwick (it came from Luton) and at that time the decision was already made to keep passengers overnight in Egypt. Monarch only provided little evidence that it attempted to get another airline to fly their passengers home.

 

Mr Longden also argued that as Gatwick is a major hub for Monarch the problem could have been dealt with much faster.

One of the most debated extraordinary circumstances under the EC Regulation are delays that are caused by technical defects. Airlines will often deny such claims, but if it comes to court then it will come down to the interpretation of the judge.

In the case of mr Longden it took 18 months and three separate court hearings, but he finally won the case. Monarch was so confident they would win the case that they didn’t attend court for the third and final hearing. The passenger stated: “Monarch may fly sky-high, but they’re not above the law. And I’m pleased the Judge brought them down to earth with a bump. “

Want to know more about this story, read the full article here.

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