European Attorney-General concludes: Conducting airline must pay compensation

Attorney-General Tanchev advised the European Court of Justice today on the matter of responsibility of paying financial compensation by the airline causing a missed connection. The airline responsible for the arrival delay is obliged to pay the compensation, according to Attorney-General Tanchev.

Different airlines and a missed connection

For a while, the question remained what passengers are entitled to when a flight with a missed connection was conducted by two different airlines. It can also be the case that the initial purchase of the airline tickets were made via a different airline or travel agency. Who is responsible for paying the compensation in the event of an arrival delay of three hours or more and how should the amount of compensation be calculated? According to Attorney-General Tanchev, the airline conducting the flight that was delayed is responsible for paying the compensation. The amount of compensation should be based on the entire distance of the flight, from start to finish.

The European Court of Justice is set to give a verdict on the matter in the near future.

Airline causing delay responsible for paying compensation

Attorney-General Tanchev states that the airline responsible for the ‘problem’, this being a delay of missed connection, is also responsible for paying compensation to the passenger for the entire distance of the flight.

Example: You booked flights with a travel agency from Glasgow to Doha via London. Your first flight is with British Airways to London and your connecting flight with Qatar Airways. Your flight to London is delayed due to a technical problem; you miss your connection to Doha and arrive with a delay of six hours. According to the Attorney-General you are entitled to €600 in compensation per person. British Airways caused the delay and therefor, they have to pay you compensation.

We now await the verdict of the European Court of Justice.