Yahoo Finance British Airways Cityflyer loses £220 flight delay compensation claim which went to Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by British Airways (BA) Cityflyer over compensation for a cancelled flight, in a decision that has the potential to affect tens of thousands of claims.
The background to the case centred around a couple Mr and Mrs Lipton, who were booked onto a flight from Milan Linate Airport to London City Airport on 30 January 2018, which was operated by BA Cityflyer.
However, the flight was cancelled because the pilot was ill and the airline was unable to find a replacement.
The couple were rebooked onto a replacement flight and landed in London just over 2.5 hours later than scheduled.
The couple went on to claim against Cityflyer for €250 (£220) under EU legislation which entitles passengers to compensation for cancelled flights.
The airline refused to pay on the ground that the pilot falling ill was an extraordinary circumstance.
The couple took their case to the Portsmouth County Court, but their claim was dismissed by the deputy District Judge. Additionally, their appeal to the Winchester County Court was also dismissed by the Circuit Judge.
The couple went on to appeal their case to the Court of Appeal, which they were successful as the court upheld their claim, resulting in the Lord Justices determined that the defence was not made out.
BA Cityflyer sought an appeal of the Court of Appeal decision at the Supreme Court – the parties went to a hearing earlier this year.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the couple as it dismissed BA Cityflyer’s application to appeal. It held that the pilot falling ill did not amount to an extraordinary circumstance within the meaning of EU regulation.
Lord Sales and Lady Rose led the judgment which Lady Simler agreed with. Lord Burrows gave a concurring judgment agreeing with the leading judgment. While Lord Lloyd-Jones also gave a concurring judgment agreeing as to the result but disagreed with the reasoning regarding accrued EU law rights.
According to barrister Michael Rawlinson KC of 12 King’s Bench Walk back in February, this “judgment will join the growing landscape of decisions shaping the application and scope of EU law post-Brexit and will have far-reaching consequences for the rights of passengers attempting to pursue small claims relating to aviation delay.”
A spokesperson for British Airways said: “We are disappointed with this decision and respect the judgment of the court.”
