Pilot’s death is not an “unusual circumstance”

The Court of Justice of the European Union has just today ruled that the sudden and unexpected death of the pilot before flight departure was not an “extraordinary circumstance” within the meaning of the Regulation. The passengers, who were delayed for approximately 10 hours as a result, were therefore entitled to compensation.

Today, the Court of Justice of the European Union has issued a judgment that illustrates that the purpose of the Airline Regulation is to protect passengers as much as possible.

The co-pilot of the flight in question was found dead in his hotel bed at 4.15 am on the same day. This was a shock to the entire crew, who then declared themselves unable to complete the flight.

As there was no replacement crew available outside the airline’s base, the flight scheduled to depart at 6.05 am was canceled and the passengers were rebooked on another flight, causing a delay of approximately 10 hours.

However, the airline refused to pay compensation under Article 7(1) of Regulation 261/2004, arguing that the unexpected death of the co-pilot constituted an “extraordinary circumstance” within the meaning of Article 5(3) of the Aircraft Regulation, and the matter was referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

The CJEU’s judgment states, inter alia

“Carriers may therefore, in the ordinary course of their business, be confronted, in the normal exercise of their activities, with the unexpected absence, due to illness or death, of one or more members of staff who are essential to the operation of a flight, including shortly before the start of the flight. Consequently, the management of such an absence is inextricably linked to the planning of flight crews and of staff working hours, so that such an unexpected event constitutes part of the normal course of the activity of the air carrier concerned.”

‘In the light of the foregoing, the answer to the question referred [] is that Article 5(3) of Regulation No 261/2004 must be interpreted as meaning that an unexpected absence due to the illness or death of a crew member, which is absolutely necessary for the operation of a flight, which occurs shortly before that flight and which occurs shortly before the scheduled departure of that flight, is not covered by the concept of ‘extraordinary circumstances’ within the meaning of that provision

With this conclusion, it can be assumed that air passengers are entitled to compensation if a flight is delayed or canceled due to illness or death of crew members.