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flightright v Air Nostrum (C-274/16 etc.)

A plain-English summary of the Court of Justice of the EU judgment of 7 March 2018: the facts, the question, what was decided and what it means for your claim.

By the EU261 Flight Delay editorial team Last reviewed: Reading time: 4 min How we write our guides

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In short: A claim over a delayed connecting journey is contractual even against an operating airline you never contracted with, and can be brought at the final destination.

Caseflightright GmbH v Air Nostrum, Líneas Aéreas del Mediterráneo SA (C-274/16); Roland Becker v Hainan Airlines Co. Ltd (C-447/16); Mohamed Barkan and Others v Air Nostrum, Líneas Aéreas del Mediterráneo SA (C-448/16)
CitationC-274/16, C-447/16 and C-448/16
CourtCourt of Justice of the EU (Third Chamber)
Date
Full textEUR-Lex (Publications Office of the European Union)

The facts

In C-274/16, two passengers had a single Air Berlin booking from Ibiza to Düsseldorf via Palma de Mallorca on 25 July 2015. The first leg, operated by Air Nostrum, was late, so they missed the Air Berlin flight and reached Düsseldorf at 11.32 the next day. They assigned their claim to flightright, which sued Air Nostrum in Düsseldorf.

In C-447/16, Mr Becker booked Hainan Airlines from Berlin to Beijing via Brussels on 7 August 2013. The first leg, operated by Brussels Airlines, ran to time; he says he was then denied boarding on the Hainan flight in Brussels. Hainan is based outside the EU.

In C-448/16, the Barkan family booked with Iberia from Melilla to Frankfurt am Main via Madrid on 7 August 2010. The first leg, operated by Air Nostrum, left 20 minutes late, they missed the Iberia connection and arrived four hours late. The German courts asked whether they had jurisdiction in each case.

The question

Under the EU rules on jurisdiction, is a compensation claim against an operating airline you had no contract with a “matter relating to a contract”? And for a connecting journey, which place is the “place of performance” where you can sue?

What the Court ruled

  1. The special jurisdiction rule for contracts for services in Regulation No 44/2001 does not apply to a defendant domiciled outside the EU, such as Hainan Airlines.
  2. A claim for compensation for the long delay of a connecting flight under Regulation 261/2004, brought against an operating airline with which the passenger has no contract, is a “matter relating to a contract”.
  3. Where the two legs of a connecting flight were operated by two different airlines, and the claim is based on an irregularity on the first leg, the “place of performance” is the place of arrival of the second leg. The courts there can hear the claim.

Paraphrased from the operative part of the judgment. The exact wording is in the full text.

What it means for you

Within the EU you can usually sue the airline that caused the delay in the courts for your final destination, even if you booked with a different airline.

These jurisdiction rules come from the EU’s Brussels regime. Since the end of 2020 that regime no longer applies between the UK and EU countries, so a cross-border claim involving a UK court follows different rules. Check before you issue proceedings, or use a claims service.

Read more: How to claim, step by step · Missed connection compensation · Denied boarding compensation · The European Small Claims Procedure.

Status in the UK

Decided before the end of the Brexit transition period (11 pm on 31 December 2020), so it is assimilated EU case law in the UK. County courts and sheriff courts must follow it when they apply UK261; the UK Supreme Court and the appeal courts listed in the 2020 regulations (including the Court of Appeal in England and Wales) may depart from it.

How EU rulings apply after Brexit is explained on our case-law overview.

This is a plain-English summary written by our editorial team, not legal advice. Judgments turn on their facts, and later rulings can refine them. Before relying on a case in a dispute, read the full judgment or get advice.

  • LE v TAP (C-74/19, 2020) – Unruly passengers, knock-on delays and re-routing
  • Wegener v Royal Air Maroc (C-537/17, 2018) – EU departures with a non-EU stopover are covered all the way
  • Gahan v Emirates ([2017] EWCA Civ 1530, 2017) – Connections via Dubai etc.: delay at final destination counts
  • Folkerts (C-11/11, 2013) – Connecting flights: delay is measured at the final destination
  • Rehder v Air Baltic (C-204/08, 2009) – Sue at the departure or arrival airport, your choice

All cases in the library

Sources

  1. Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber), 7 March 2018, Joined Cases C-274/16, C-447/16 and C-448/16, flightright and Others – EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the European Union)

We check every rule against the sources above. Spotted an error? Tell us – see our editorial policy.