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Passengers of a Corona repatriation flight after landing: No refund
Photo: Hans Punz / dpa
Anyone who was brought home on a state-organized flight at the beginning of the corona pandemic cannot claim the money from the airline that was supposed to bring them back. This was the verdict of the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
In their ruling, the ECJ judges pointed out that the underlying EU air passenger rights would only apply to commercial flights. A legal provision on this is set out in which cases a passenger is entitled to compensation. However, according to the ECJ ruling, a repatriation flight organized by the state is not a commercial flight. It can differ greatly – for example, in terms of service on board.
The lawsuit was filed by an Austrian couple whose return flight from Mauritius to Vienna was cancelled at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020. Instead, a flight organized by the Austrian Foreign Ministry brought the couple back. The couple had to pay 500 euros per person for it.
Same airline, same time
However, the flight was operated by the same airline at the same time as the one originally planned by the couple. The spouses are therefore of the opinion that they had been charged twice for the return flight and demanded a refund of the 1000 euros paid by the airline.
The ECJ pointed out that travellers could theoretically sue for reimbursement of other costs before national courts. This could be, for example, the price of the original flight ticket.
In Germany, too, legal disputes are still ongoing regarding the Corona repatriation flights. As of mid-March 2020, 67,000 people were brought back to Germany on around 270 charter flights. However, the ECJ ruling is unlikely to have any influence on the German proceedings, as the ECJ is only concerned with possible reimbursements of travel providers – not with the state costs for the repatriation flights.
kko/dpa