German Court Airline Ruling

(04/08/2014) Today the German Courts have given a ruling on late planes and when a plane has landed. This has an impact on compensation across Europe for delayed flights.

A flight delayed for more than 3-hours is subject to late plane compensation under European Law, but when has a plane landed?  Germanwings definition was when a plane has landed, however, the German Court has determined that a plane has landed when the doors are opened.  The ruling came because a flight landed 2 hours and 58 minutes late but the doors opened after 3-hours.  

A couple of minutes suddenly makes a massive difference. Under European Union law a consumer can claim compensation for European flights or long-haul international flights where they are over 3-hours late.  The airlines fight these cases tooth and nail because of the potential financial impact to their businesses.