Unscheduled stopover and passengers rights

The ECJ recently ruled on the consequence of an unscheduled stopover for the application of the EC Regulation No 261/2004 of 11 February 2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights, and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 295/91, in a case C-32/16, 5 October 2016, Ute Wunderlich / Bulgarian Air Charter Limited.

In that case, a passenger sued the airline and claimed the indemnity for flight cancellation pursuant to Articles 5 and 7 of the European Regulation No 261/2004 as his flight arrived late by 2 hours and 20 minutes in Dresden after an unscheduled stopover in Prague.

A flight in respect of which the places of departure and arrival accorded with the planned schedule but during which an unscheduled stopover took place cannot be regarded as cancelled.

The Court considered that such a flight cannot be considered as non-operated in the meaning of article 2 1) of the above regulation, even though the flight’s itinerary is an essential element. Here, the places of departure and of arrival were not modified and passengers were not transferred onto another flight.

According to the Court, deciding differently would not be consistent with the purpose of the European regulation or the principle of equal treatment.

An unscheduled stopover does not give rise to serious trouble and inconvenience. In addition, an indemnity may be claimed only if the flight arrives after an unscheduled stopover with a delay equal to or in excess of three hours compared with the scheduled time of arrival.

Therefore, the fact that a flight gave rise to an unscheduled stopover cannot be regarded as having been cancelled.