Euro regionals raise alarm with EASA on consumer law dangers

The trade body representing European regional carriers has appealed to the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to take a stance on legal verdicts it says could pit commercial interests against safety considerations. The European Regions Airline Association (ERA), which represents some 50 carriers, is concerned that recent cases in Europe’s courts are creating a dilemma for airlines. A recent example of this was a case in a UK lower court where the judge declared that a lightning strike on an aircraft was not an unforeseeable or extraordinary occurrence, the only acceptable excuse a European airline can put forward for denying compensation to delayed passengers under European Union consumer legislation. The case arose after a lightning strike on an aircraft required it to be checked for damage at its next stop, a requirement that delayed the flight and rendered the airline liable for compensation payments of several hundred euros for each passenger. Small European airlines have warned that the financial impact of the consumer legislation, known as EC261, could have a catastrophic effect. Increasingly, the only acceptable reason for not paying compensation in the event of a delay is weather-related. However, despite this, the judge in the UK lightning case appears to have taken the view that severe weather is not an extraordinary occurrence and that the airline is liable for compensation.<br/>