WZ v Austrian Airlines AG (2021) C-826/19 CJEU (4th Chamber); ECLI:EU:C:2021:318
European Court of Justice, Fourth Chamber
Facts
11 WZ made a single booking with Austrian Airlines for a journey consisting of two flights to take place on 21 May 2018, the first between Klagenfurt (Austria) and Vienna (Austria), scheduled to depart at 18.35 and arrive at 19.20, and the second between Vienna and Berlin (Germany), scheduled to depart at 21.00 and arrive at 22.20 at Berlin Tegel airport.
12 Since the meteorological conditions prevailing at aircraft turnaround three flights back in the rotation sequence of the aircraft due to carry out the flight between Vienna and Berlin caused a delay which had a knock-on effect on the subsequent flights by that aircraft, the flight booked by WZ took off from Vienna airport at 22.07 and, since it was unable to land at Berlin Tegel airport because of the prohibition on night flights in force, was diverted to Berlin Schönefeld airport, located in the Land of Brandenburg (Germany), near the Land of Berlin (Germany), where it landed at 23.18.
13 WZ brought an action before the Bezirksgericht Schwechat (District Court, Schwechat, Austria) seeking an order requiring Austrian Airlines to pay him the sum of EUR 250 by way of compensation under Article 5(1)(c) of Regulation No 261/2004, read in conjunction with Article 7(1) of that regulation. That claim was based on the delay in arrival of the flight (at 23.18 instead of 22.20) as well as on the fact that Austrian Airlines had failed to fulfil its obligation to offer him onward transport from Berlin Schönefeld airport to Berlin Tegel airport. According to WZ, Article 8(3) of that regulation is not applicable to his situation, since Berlin Schönefeld airport is not situated in the Land of Berlin.
14 In its defence, Austrian Airlines contended that the application should be dismissed, arguing (i) that WZ had reached his final destination with a delay of 58 minutes only, (ii) that WZ was able to return home, situated 24 km from Berlin Schönefeld airport, without difficulty using onward transport and (iii) that the delay was due to extraordinary circumstances, within the meaning of Article 5(3) of Regulation No 261/2004, namely significant meteorological problems prevailing at aircraft turnaround three flights back in the rotation sequence.
Issue(s)
No issues drafted yet for this case.Discussion
41 Moreover, it is settled case-law that all EU acts must be interpreted in accordance with primary law as a whole, including the principle of equal treatment, which requires that comparable situations must not be treated differently and that different situations must not be treated in the same way unless such treatment is objectively justified (judgment of 19 November 2009, Sturgeon and Others, C-402/07 and C-432/07, EU:C:2009:716, paragraph 48).
42 It would be contrary to the principle of equal treatment to treat a flight diverted to an airport which is not that for which the booking was made but which serves the same town, city or region in the same way as a cancelled flight. Such treatment would, as the Advocate General observed in points 59 and 60 of his Opinion, result in conferring on the passenger of that flight a right to compensation under Article 5(1)(c) and Article 7 of Regulation No 261/2004, including where, at the end of the transfer, the passenger would arrive at the airport for which the booking was made or at any other destination agreed with a delay of less than three hours, while refusing that right to compensation to a passenger whose flight landed at the airport for which the booking was made, even though the latter passenger would have suffered an inconvenience similar to that of the former passenger.
43 By contrast, in the second place, serious trouble and inconvenience arise where a passenger on a flight diverted to an alternative airport serving the same town, city or region incurs a long delay in arrival and reaches his or her final destination with a delay of three hours or more beyond the original planned arrival time. In that case, the passenger, as a rule, is entitled to compensation under Regulation No 261/2004 where the passenger incurs a long delay in arrival of three hours or more, within the meaning of the judgment of 19 November 2009, Sturgeon and Others (C-402/07 and C-432/07, EU:C:2009:716).
44 In the light of the foregoing, the answer to the second and third questions is that Article 5(1)(c), Article 7(1) and Article 8(3) of Regulation No 261/2004 must be interpreted as meaning that a diverted flight landing at an airport which is not that for which the booking was made but which serves the same town, city or region is not capable of conferring on the passenger a right to compensation for cancellation of a flight. However, a passenger of a flight diverted to an alternative airport serving the same town, city or region as the airport for which the booking was made is entitled, as a rule, to compensation under that regulation when the passenger reaches his or her final destination three hours or more after the arrival time originally planned by the operating air carrier
With regard to transfer costs:
64 The diversion of a flight to an airport which is not that for which the booking was made but which serves the same town, city or region is likely to cause inconvenience to the passengers concerned where, in particular, the transfer to the airport for which the booking was made may prove to be costly and complex to organise, either because the alternative airport is, as such, less well served than the destination airport for which the booking was made or because the late landing of the diverted flight has the effect of limiting the transport available for the transfer to take place.
65 Moreover, that interpretation respects the balancing of the interests of air passengers and those of the operating air carriers, which, as noted in paragraph 39 above, led to the adoption of Regulation No 261/2004. While guaranteeing to the former that after landing at the alternative airport they will be transported either to the airport for which the booking was made or to another close-by destination agreed with the operating air carrier, it enables the latter to avoid the obligation to pay the compensation referred to in Article 7 of that regulation by ensuring that passengers can reach either the airport for which the booking was made or another close-by destination agreed with the operating air carrier without being subject to a delay of three hours or more beyond the original planned arrival time.
66 In the light of the foregoing, the answer to the sixth question is that Article 8(3) of Regulation No 261/2004 must be interpreted as meaning that, where a diverted flight lands at an airport which is not that for which the booking was made but which serves the same town, city or region, the operating air carrier must on its own initiative offer the passenger to bear the cost of transfer either to the destination airport for which the booking was made or, as the case may be, to another close-by destination agreed with the passenger.
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EU Regulation 261/2004/Appeals history
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