Cross-border Debt Recovery Blog
by Marco Sposini
Laywer, Milan Bar Association
Worldwide debt recovery news
The Court of Justice on concept of ‘extraordinary circumstances’, pursuant to Article 5(3) of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004
12 May 2023
The Court of Justice of the European Union, by judgment ECLI:EU:C:2023:393, dated 11 May 2023, in Joined Cases C-156/22 to C-158/22 – in proceedings between TAP Portugal, on the one hand, and flightright GmbH (Case C-156/22) and Myflyright GmbH (Cases C-157/22 and C-158/22), on the other, concerning the right of passengers to compensation under Regulation No 261/2004, following the cancellation of a flight due to the unexpected death of the aircraft’s co-pilot shortly before the scheduled departure of the flight – ruled that Article 5(3) of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights, must be interpreted as meaning that the unexpected absence – due to illness or death of a crew member whose presence is essential to the operation of a flight – which occurred shortly before the scheduled departure of that flight, does not fall within the concept of ‘extraordinary circumstances’ within the meaning of that provision. Therefore, even in this case, the air carrier must pay the compensation provided for by Article 7(1) of that Regulation.
The text is available here