Status: 06.10.2022 1:20 p.m
Passengers must be compensated even if only one flight is very late on a leg. That was decided by the European Court of Justice. However, certain conditions must be met.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) strengthens the rights of passengers whose flights have long delays. Passengers can also claim compensation if a trip consists of several flights and these are operated by different companies, the judges said.
There is no need for a special legal relationship between the companies, as long as a travel agency combines the flights, charges a total price and issues a single ticket.
600 euros for four hours late
The background is a case before the Federal Court of Justice. A traveler is demanding compensation of 600 euros from the airline American Airlines because she arrived more than four hours late in Kansas City in the USA. She had booked her flight with Swiss from Stuttgart to Zurich and from there with American Airlines to Philadelphia and on to Kansas City at a travel agency. The delay occurred on the last leg. The travel agency had charged her a total price for the partial flights and given her a single ticket.