In short: The Grand Chamber confirmed Sturgeon: a delay of 3 hours or more at the final destination gives a right to compensation, compatible with the Montreal Convention.
| Case | Nelson and Others v Lufthansa (C-581/10); TUI Travel plc, British Airways plc, easyJet Airline Company Ltd and the International Air Transport Association v Civil Aviation Authority (C-629/10) |
|---|---|
| Citation | C-581/10 and C-629/10 |
| Court | Court of Justice of the EU (Grand Chamber) |
| Date | |
| Full text | EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the European Union) |
The facts
The Nelsons flew with Lufthansa from Frankfurt am Main to Lagos and back. Their return flight, due to leave Lagos at 22.50 on 27 March 2008, finally left at 01.00 on 29 March with a replacement aircraft and landed in Frankfurt more than 24 hours late. They claimed €600 each. Lufthansa argued that the regulation gives no compensation for delay, that Sturgeon could not be reconciled with the Montreal Convention and that the Court had exceeded its powers. The Amtsgericht Köln (Local Court, Cologne) referred questions.
The second case came from England. TUI Travel, British Airways, easyJet and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) challenged the UK Civil Aviation Authority, which had refused to assure them that it would not treat Regulation 261/2004 as requiring compensation for delays. The English court referred the question to the Court of Justice.
The question
Should the Court go back on Sturgeon? Is a right to compensation for long delays compatible with the Montreal Convention, and are Articles 5 to 7 of the regulation valid?
What the Court ruled
- Passengers whose flights are delayed are entitled to compensation under the regulation where they reach their final destination three hours or more after the arrival time originally scheduled by the airline.
- That delay does not entitle passengers to compensation if the airline can prove that it was caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.
- Examining the questions disclosed nothing capable of affecting the validity of Articles 5 to 7 of the regulation.
Paraphrased from the operative part of the judgment. The exact wording is in the full text.
What it means for you
After Nelson, the right to delay compensation is settled. The industry’s attempt to overturn Sturgeon failed, including the challenge brought through the English courts by British Airways, easyJet and TUI.
The English Court of Appeal relied on Sturgeon and Nelson in Dawson v Thomson Airways (2014), where it held that the Montreal Convention’s two-year time limit does not apply to these claims.
Nelson was decided before the end of 2020, so it is part of the assimilated case law that UK courts apply to UK261.
Read more: Flight delay compensation · The Montreal Convention.
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.
Related cases
- LOT v Budapest Government Office – Enforcement bodies may order airlines to pay
- LE v TAP – Unruly passengers, knock-on delays and re-routing
- Moens v Ryanair – Runway closed by a fuel spill is extraordinary
- Germanwings v Pauels – Runway debris damaging a tyre is extraordinary
- Wegener v Royal Air Maroc – EU departures with a non-EU stopover are covered all the way
- Krüsemann v TUIfly – Mass crew sick-out (“wildcat strike”) is not extraordinary
Sources
- Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber), 23 October 2012, Joined Cases C-581/10 and C-629/10, Nelson and Others – EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the European Union)
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