New European Court Judgement Today - How to Determine Arrival Times

Vauban

With thanks to an old friend of this forum for the tip-off, you will want to be aware that the European Court today clarified how to define "arrival time" when determining flight delays. This is important for those flights which are either close to the three hour limit (or three/four hours for those over 3500km, where compensation is halved).

Previously folk in the industry - including one assumes those nice people at flightstats.co.uk - have been using "wheels down" as the moment to record arrival time. However, the court today has determined that:

Regulation No 261/2004 must be interpreted as meaning that the concept of ‘arrival time’, which is used to determine the length of the delay to which passengers on a flight have been subject, corresponds to the time at which at least one of the doors of the aircraft is opened, the assumption being that, at that moment, the passengers are permitted to leave the aircraft.

The full text of today's binding judgement can be found here: http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&docid=157348&pageIndex=0&doclang=en&mode=lst&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=282132

This means that if you were just shy of the cut-off for compensation previously you may now have a valid claim (and also that the timings for flightstats may no longer be accurate in this regard).

I will amend my recent guide (http://db.orangedox.com/GdfSa4xUZdZI...mpensation.pdf) accordingly.

Vauban

JPears

So are we to see some airlines with dubious scruples opening a door halfway down the runway?
"It was only 2hours and 55 minutes, the door was open m'lud"

Vauban

You're so conventional JP - why wait for the runway?

dxc_chappie

Vauban wrote: »

This means that if you were just shy of the cut-off for compensation previously you may now have a valid claim (and also that the timings for flightstats may no longer be accurate in this regard).

It is good that this has been clarified (and astounding that it needs the ECJ to clarify it!) but unless the door opening time is recorded and published in the public domain it will be difficult for a claimant to prove the time.

Maybe delayed passengers should start recording their own video evidence ... ?

JPears

dxc_chappie wrote: »

It is good that this has been clarified (and astounding that it needs the ECJ to clarify it!) but unless the door opening time is recorded and published in the public domain it will be difficult for a claimant to prove the time.

Maybe delayed passengers should start recording their own video evidence ... ?

But it does mean you can add at least 10 mins onto any "touchdown" time at flightstats.