CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY V RYANAIR DAC

[2022] EWCA Civ 76, Court of Appeal, Lord Justice Lewison, Lord Justice Newey and Lord Justice Snowden, 2 February 2022

Aviation – Compensation for cancelled flight – Strike – Whether strike constituted “extraordinary circumstances” – Regulation (EC) No 261/2004

Under the European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, air carriers were required to provide assistance and compensation to passengers who were denied boarding or whose flights are cancelled or seriously delayed. Under article 5, where a flight was cancelled, a passenger was entitled to compensation depending upon the distance of the flight in question, although that was subject to article 7 under which compensation was not payable if the carrier could prove that “the cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken”.