Passengers are Fighting Airlines for 2hr 58 Delays

According to EC Regulation 261/2004, a passenger is only entitled to claim delayed flight compensation if the delay was 3 hours or more. Any delay less than 3 hours unfortunately does not qualify for compensation. But when it comes to delays of 2 hours 58 minutes it has been debated as to whether or not this qualifies for compensation or not. Technically speaking no it should not qualify. But what really is defined as the exact arrival time? Is it the time the wheels touch the runway? Or the time the aircraft reaches the gate and comes to a complete standstill? Or could it be the time that the passengers disembark the aircraft? EC Regulation 261/2004 does not specify exactly what is meant by the arrival time.

A case went through Bedford County court recently concerning a delay of 2 hours 58 minutes. It is otherwise known as the Lawes vs. Thomson Airways Limited case. It was found that the flight touched down (i.e. the wheels touched the runway) 2 hours 58 minutes late, however passengers did not arrive at the gate and come to a standstill until 3 hours 5 minutes after the scheduled arrival time. As this case was right on the margin of qualifying for compensation it was taken to court for a judge to oversee.

The Court had to decide whether or not the flight had in fact ‘arrived’ more than three hours late. If the verdict decided that the flight arrived when the wheels touched the tarmac then the Claimant would lose and would not be entitled to any airline flight delay compensation. However, if the judge deemed the arrival time to be when the flight reached the gate and came to a standstill then the claim would be legitimate. It was found that the arrival time is indeed to be judged from when the aircraft comes to a complete standstill at the gate. The Claimant was awarded full compensation on top of the interest and legal costs incurred.

This case can act as precedent for all similar cases that follow, as it is often the case that an aircraft will touch down on the runway but will then take a good 15-20 minutes before the aircraft arrives at a complete standstill. Passenger rights are becoming more refined and the general awareness about flight delay compensation is becoming more widespread. Compensation claims are coming in from all across the globe, not just in the UK, and flight delay refunds companies are becoming much more prominent. Blueway Limited (www.flightdelayrefunds.com) is a flight delay refunds company based in the UK that deals with flight delay compensation claims for passengers from all over the world. The company has successfully won compensation for passengers in China and America as well as the majority of European countries. If you want to take the easiest route to claiming compensation with the highest chance of success then contact Blueway Limited today!