Sunday 3 May 2020

Final destination counts - CJEU in Air Nostrum (C-191/19)

In another air transport case - Air Nostrum (C-191/19) decided last Thursday, on 30 April, the CJEU adjudicated whether a passenger could apply for the compensation from Regulation No 261/2004 in case they have been denied boarding against their will on the first of their two connecting flights, but were then placed on another flight that still allowed them to make the second connecting flight and reach their final destination timely. Unsurprisingly, the answer is that the passenger may in such a situation NOT claim the compensation. This is a short judgment, as the reasoning is very much in line with the previous case law perceiving connecting flights as a single unit and the CJEU looking at consumers' detriment (loss of time) in reaching the final destination (para 29). In a case at hand this loss did not occur, thus any inconvenience suffered by the passenger due to the time change of the first connecting flight was not considered sufficiently serious to award the right to compensation (para 32).