Jettime safety landing in Billund today due to sick pilot

A passenger flight from Stockholm with route number JP173, bound for Gran Canaria, was forced to land at Billund Airport this morning.

The reason for the “safety landing” was – according to Jettime – that the plane’s first officer (co-pilot) had caught a cold and that Jettime had chosen to replace the first officer.

As a result, route JP173 to Gran Canaria was delayed for approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes.

As a general rule, you are entitled to flight compensation if your flight is delayed for 3 hours or more, or if your flight is canceled less than 14 days before scheduled departure. This is stated in the Air Regulation 261/2004 (REGULATION (EC) No 261/2004 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 11 February 2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to air passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights).

However, in the case of a so-called “extraordinary circumstance” that could not have been avoided, the airline is not obliged to pay flight compensation.

It is not an “extraordinary circumstance” if one of the plane’s pilots dies shortly before departure. This is what the European Court of Justice ruled in a case against TAP Portugal from 2022.

So, neither death nor illness can justify the airline denying your claim for compensation.

However, as passengers on route JP173 were delayed for less than 3 hours on January 12, 2025, they are not entitled to flight compensation.

Contact us if you want an assessment of whether you are entitled to flight compensation. Already in 2017, we led (and won) the first case in the Danish High Courts regarding pilots’ illness, and we also have extensive experience with such cases.

You can also read more about your rights here: Flight compensation – Flyadvokaten ApS.