ANSWER · UK 261 AND EC 261

The plane took off and came back. Is that a cancellation?

Yes. Sousa Rodríguez held in 2011 that Art. 2(l) covers not only an aircraft that fails to depart but also one that takes off and is forced to return to the departure airport, where passengers are then transferred to other flights. The flight did not reach its planned destination, so it was not operated.

REVIEWED AGAINST RULE SET V6 AND THE CITED PRIMARY SOURCES · UPDATED 7 AUGUST 2026

What was decided

An Air France service from Paris to Vigo turned back shortly after take off with a technical problem, and passengers were rebooked over the following days. The Court held that the concept of cancellation does not refer only to the situation in which the aeroplane fails to take off at all.

Why the label changes the claim

IF TREATED AS	COMPENSATION TURNS ON	NOTICE RULE
Cancellation	Notice and cause	Art. 5(1)(c), the 14 day and re-routing windows
Delay	Arrival 3 hours or more late, and cause	No notice rule applies

In a turnback the passengers usually travel days later, so both routes point the same way. The classification matters most where a replacement leaves the same day.

The cause still has to be examined

A turnback for a technical problem takes the reader straight to Wallentin-Hermann and van der Lans, which put technical faults inside the airline's ordinary activity. A turnback after a bird strike or a medical emergency on board is a different analysis.

THE JUDGMENTS BEHIND THIS ANSWER

Wallentin-Hermann, C-549/072008 Sousa Rodríguez, C-83/102011

SOURCES

Case C-83/10 Sousa Rodríguez v Air France, judgment of 13 October 2011 (ECLI:EU:C:2011:664) · EUR-Lex · checked 7 August 2026
Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Art. 2(l) · EUR-Lex · checked 7 August 2026
Case C-549/07 Wallentin-Hermann v Alitalia, judgment of 22 December 2008 (ECLI:EU:C:2008:811) · EUR-Lex · checked 7 August 2026