The Supreme Court has turned down appeal applications from Jet2 and Thomson in two landmark flight delay cases worth billions of pounds to consumers.
The Court of Appeal judgments in Huzar V Jet2 and Dawson V Thomson, both handed down in July 2014, now stand as good law.
The Huzar ruling says airlines must pay flight compensation for qualifying delays caused by technical problems as these are not considered an ‘extraordinary circumstance’ under flight compensation regulation EU261.
The Dawson judgment confirms consumers in England and Wales have six years to bring a claim for flight delay compensation.
An estimated 2.36 million passengers per year in England and Wales are set to benefit from the Huzar decision, equivalent to approximately £876 million in compensation claims. The Dawson case has opened up an estimated £3.89 billion in historic flight compensation.
Holds placed on thousands of passengers’ claims pending today’s decisions, will now be lifted. Airlines should now settle these claims in line with the Court of Appeal judgments. Consumers with claims previously turned down by the airline on grounds of a technical problem or for being over two years old should resubmit their claim.
Mr Huzar, 58, from Stockport issued a claim after a 27 hour delay caused by a wiring defect on a Jet2 flight from Malaga to Manchester on 26th October 2011.
Mr Dawson issued proceedings following a six and a half hour delay on Christmas Day 2006 from Gatwick to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.
David Bott, Senior Partner at Bott & Co, said: “This is a landmark day not just for Mr Huzar and Mr Dawson but for passengers everywhere. Two journeys which started with a delay have now finished, nearly eight years later in Mr Dawson’s case.
“Bott & Co has thousands of clients whose claims have been on hold pending today’s decisions. We will now be writing to the airlines, asking them to acknowledge the judgments, recognise their obligations and deal with these claims as promptly as possible. If you’ve previously submitted a claim to the airline but have been turned down on the grounds of a technical defect or because your claim is more than two years old, we recommend you resubmit your claim.
“The Supreme Court’s decision has provided total clarity in the law, which will benefit both airlines and passengers going forward. We here at Bott & Co are proud of our part in this victory that will benefit millions of consumers each year and brings this country’s law in line with other European countries.”
You can check if you have a valid flight delay claim with the free online calculator at www.flightcompensation.com