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by Marco Sposini
Laywer, Milan Bar Association
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The Court of Justice on Article 5(3) of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 in the event of cancellation of a flight due to a technical failure of an aircraft
13 June 2024
The Court of Justice of the European Union, by judgment ECLI:EU:C:2024:497, dated 13 June 2024, in Case C‑385/23 – in proceedings between Matkustaja A, a passenger, and Finnair Oyj, an air carrier, concerning the latter’s refusal to pay compensation to that passenger whose flight was cancelled – 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 occurrence of an unexpected and unprecedented technical failure affecting a new aircraft model recently put into service which results in the air carrier cancelling a flight is covered by the concept of ‘extraordinary circumstances’, within the meaning of that provision, where the manufacturer of that aircraft recognises, after that cancellation, that that failure was caused by a hidden design defect concerning all aircraft of the same type and impinging on flight safety.
The text is available here