The General Court of the European Union has ruled that airlines may be required to compensate passengers for delays if those delays are caused by their own decision to wait for travellers from an earlier disrupted flight. Judges made clear that such situations cannot automatically be classified as “extraordinary circumstances” to avoid paying compensation.
The case arose after a German court sought clarification in a dispute involving two passengers claiming €400 each from European Air Charter. Their flight from Düsseldorf to Varna arrived more than three hours late — the threshold at which EU passenger rights rules entitle travellers to compensation. The delay followed disruption to a previous service.
That earlier disruption was linked to unusually long security queues at Cologne-Bonn Airport, reportedly due to staffing pressures. Because passengers from the inbound flight reached the gate late, the airline chose to hold the aircraft. As a result, the subsequent flight departed more than five hours behind schedule.
The Luxembourg-based court stated that if the primary cause of a delay is an airline’s independent operational decision — such as waiting for connecting passengers — it cannot rely on extraordinary circumstances affecting the earlier flight as a defence. An exception would apply only if the airline was legally required to wait due to official instructions.
Judges also emphasised that airlines cannot justify such delays by arguing they were acting in the interests of other passengers. Balancing the needs of different groups of travellers does not remove the carrier’s responsibility under EU law, meaning airlines may need to reassess policies that involve holding flights if those choices risk triggering compensation claims.