DELAYS

On several occasions, the Court has been led to clarify its case- law on flights delayed by three hours or more. In particular, it has been called on to explain how delays are to be calculated as well as the impact of connecting flights on delays.

The Court held in 2014 that the actual arrival time of a flight is the point in time at which at least one of the doors of the aircraft is opened. It is only when passengers are authorised to leave the aircraft that they can carry on their activities without interruption (judgment of 4 September 2014, Germanwings, C-452/13). The Court has also indicated that, when a flight is delayed owing to both extraordinary circumstances and other circumstances for which the airline is responsible, the delay caused by the extraordinary circumstance must be deducted from the total delay of the flight on arrival. If, after that time has been deducted, the delay of the flight on arrival amounts to three hours or more, then the passengers are entitled to compensation (judgment of 4 May 2017, Pešková and Peška, C-315/15).

In 2013, the Court also held that the payment of compensation is not conditional on the existence of a delay at the time of departure. In order for compensation to be due, a passenger need only have been subject to a delay of three hours or more on arrival at his final destination, regardless of whether the cause of the delay was the departing flight or a possible connecting flight (judgment of 26 February 2013, Folkerts, C-11/11). Furthermore, the Court indicated, in 2017, that the distance of the flight that determines the amount of compensation covers solely, in cases of air journeys with connecting flights, the direct distance between the first point of departure and the final destination and must be calculated on the basis of the 'great circle' method (judgment of 7 September 2017, Bossen and Others, C-559/16).