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Re: Flight Cancellation compensation
Received this afternoon from those helpful people at the CAA:
23 July 2014
RE: Jet2
We are writingbecause you contacted us about a disrupted flight. You might have seen coveragein the press about a recent court ruling about treatment of technical faults. Ifyour flight was disrupted due to a technical fault, you could be affected bythis court case and we thought you might welcome some clarification of how thisjudgement affects your case.
The ruling inquestion is Jet2 v Huzar, and was handed down by the Court of Appeal on11 June. Jet2 have now sought leave for a further appeal, so the final impactmay not be clear for many months yet. However,as it now stands, the “extraordinary circumstances” exemption is still in thelaw, but will be narrower as it will not apply to the kind of technicalproblems that are normal in running an airline. The Court decided that thetechnical fault in the case, namely a wiring defect in the fuel valve circuitwhich could not have been prevented by prior maintenance or prior visualinspection, was not “extraordinary”, and compensation was due.
Unfortunately,there will continue to be a period of uncertainty until the Supreme Court makesa decision on whether it will hear the appeal. We expect that decision to betaken later this year. If the Supreme Court refuses the appeal, then thecurrent judgment will apply. If the Supreme Court accepts that it will hear theappeal, then it will take some time until the case is actually heard, and itsjudgment issued.
If yourcompensation claim was for a flight which was disrupted due to a technicalproblem with the aircraft then you may wish to raise your complaint again withyour airline and get confirmation that it will reassess your claim followingfurther clarification from the Supreme Court. If your airline is unwilling toaccept your claim, you could consider whether you wish to take the case to alocal County Court.
Should you wishto consider taking Court action, it will be important for you to understand anyCourt action has to be started with your claim being lodged with the Courtwithin 6 years of the date of the flight. The court will not hear claims thathave been lodged outside of this period.
We are not ableto provide you with legal advice in respect of your claim, but you can get guidance on commencing court proceedings from your local Citizens' Advice Bureauor the Court Service. Pleaserefer to the information provided via the following links:
-http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/law_e/law_legal_system_e/law_taking_legal_action_e/small_claims.htm
-https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/overview
-http://www.justice.gov.uk/about/hmcts/
You should beaware that, until the Supreme Court makes a decision on whether it will hearJet2’s appeal, any action you take through the courts may be stayed. You shouldalso be aware that, if the Supreme Court decides to hear the appeal, they maytake a different decision to the Court of Appeal.
To confirm, your case has been handled and closed by the CAA and regretfully on this occasionwe are unable to assist you further. I hope that this information has beenhelpful.
Yours sincerely,
Harriet Merna
Consumer Affairs Officer
Market andConsumers Group
Civil AviationAuthority
CAA House,45-59 Kingsway, London WC2B 6TE
Telephone: 0207453 6888
http://www.caa.co.uk
Case closed as far as the CAA is concerned.
Received this afternoon from those helpful people at the CAA:
23 July 2014
RE: Jet2
We are writingbecause you contacted us about a disrupted flight. You might have seen coveragein the press about a recent court ruling about treatment of technical faults. Ifyour flight was disrupted due to a technical fault, you could be affected bythis court case and we thought you might welcome some clarification of how thisjudgement affects your case.
The ruling inquestion is Jet2 v Huzar, and was handed down by the Court of Appeal on11 June. Jet2 have now sought leave for a further appeal, so the final impactmay not be clear for many months yet. However,as it now stands, the “extraordinary circumstances” exemption is still in thelaw, but will be narrower as it will not apply to the kind of technicalproblems that are normal in running an airline. The Court decided that thetechnical fault in the case, namely a wiring defect in the fuel valve circuitwhich could not have been prevented by prior maintenance or prior visualinspection, was not “extraordinary”, and compensation was due.
Unfortunately,there will continue to be a period of uncertainty until the Supreme Court makesa decision on whether it will hear the appeal. We expect that decision to betaken later this year. If the Supreme Court refuses the appeal, then thecurrent judgment will apply. If the Supreme Court accepts that it will hear theappeal, then it will take some time until the case is actually heard, and itsjudgment issued.
If yourcompensation claim was for a flight which was disrupted due to a technicalproblem with the aircraft then you may wish to raise your complaint again withyour airline and get confirmation that it will reassess your claim followingfurther clarification from the Supreme Court. If your airline is unwilling toaccept your claim, you could consider whether you wish to take the case to alocal County Court.
Should you wishto consider taking Court action, it will be important for you to understand anyCourt action has to be started with your claim being lodged with the Courtwithin 6 years of the date of the flight. The court will not hear claims thathave been lodged outside of this period.
We are not ableto provide you with legal advice in respect of your claim, but you can get guidance on commencing court proceedings from your local Citizens' Advice Bureauor the Court Service. Pleaserefer to the information provided via the following links:
-http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/law_e/law_legal_system_e/law_taking_legal_action_e/small_claims.htm
-https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/overview
-http://www.justice.gov.uk/about/hmcts/
You should beaware that, until the Supreme Court makes a decision on whether it will hearJet2’s appeal, any action you take through the courts may be stayed. You shouldalso be aware that, if the Supreme Court decides to hear the appeal, they maytake a different decision to the Court of Appeal.
To confirm, your case has been handled and closed by the CAA and regretfully on this occasionwe are unable to assist you further. I hope that this information has beenhelpful.
Yours sincerely,
Harriet Merna
Consumer Affairs Officer
Market andConsumers Group
Civil AviationAuthority
CAA House,45-59 Kingsway, London WC2B 6TE
Telephone: 0207453 6888
http://www.caa.co.uk
Case closed as far as the CAA is concerned.
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