Pilot Illness not an Extraordinary Circumstance

DrA_Harrogate

It seems as if we may fly to abroad;and quite soon. Some of us will be delayed and no doubt the airlines will deploy their excuses as "extraordinary circumstances". Crew illness is no longer among them..https://epaper.thetimes.co.uk/the-times/20210510/282647510396167

Alan_Bowen

Although I am in favour of EU261, this seems very harsh. The pilot became ill in Milan, BA do not have spare pilots sitting around at every airport they fly to, so put the passengers on the next flight. They arrived back in London 2 hours and 36 minutes later than the original flight, not long enough to claim if the flight had simply been delayed rather than cancelled! I cannot accept that the law was ever intended to protect customers in this situation, but bad cases make bad law!