RULINGS LIBRARY
The judgments that decide flight compensation claims
26 judgments, one page each, from 22 December 2008 to the UK Supreme Court in 2024. Most of what an airline can and cannot call an extraordinary circumstance under Art. 5(3) was settled by these cases, and most rejection letters are arguing against one of them. Every page cites the judgment itself.
REVIEWED AGAINST RULE SET V5 AND THE CITED PRIMARY SOURCES · UPDATED 7 AUGUST 2026
Which side of Art. 5(3) each cause falls
Art. 5(3) removes compensation where the carrier proves an extraordinary circumstance it could not have avoided. The case law has already answered most of the common causes.
| CAUSE | EXTRAORDINARY? | CASE |
|---|---|---|
| Technical fault | No | Wallentin-Hermann |
| Component failing prematurely | No | van der Lans |
| Wildcat strike by own staff | No | Krüsemann |
| Lawful strike by own staff | No | Airhelp v SAS |
| Captain or crew sickness | No | Lipton |
| Bird strike | Yes | Pešková |
| Airspace closure, volcanic ash | Yes | McDonagh |
| Unruly passenger forcing a diversion | Yes | TAP |
Every case, newest first
Lipton · [2024] UKSC 2410 JULY 2024The UK Supreme Court held in July 2024 that a captain's absence through illness shortly before a flight is not an extraordinary circumstance: crew sickness is part of running an airline.Touristic Aviation · C-405/2316 MAY 2024A shortage of the airport operator's baggage loading staff may be an extraordinary circumstance.TAP (death of the co-pilot) · C-156/22 to C-158/2211 MAY 2023The sudden death of a crew member shortly before departure is not an extraordinary circumstance.SATA (fuelling failure) · C-308/217 JULY 2022A general failure of an airport's fuelling system can be an extraordinary circumstance.Airhelp v Laudamotion · C-263/2021 DECEMBER 2021Bringing a flight forward by more than one hour is a cancellation under Art.Corendon · C-395/2021 DECEMBER 2021Postponing a flight by less than three hours, with nothing else changed, is not a cancellation.Austrian Airlines (diversion) · C-826/1922 APRIL 2021A diversion to another airport serving the same town or region is not a cancellation, so it carries no automatic compensation.Airhelp v SAS · C-28/2023 MARCH 2021A lawful strike called by a trade union of the carrier's own staff is not an extraordinary circumstance.TAP · C-74/1911 JUNE 2020Unruly passenger behaviour that makes the commander divert to offload that passenger is an extraordinary circumstance under Art.Finnair (re-routing) · C-832/1812 MARCH 2020One journey can pay twice.Moens · C-159/1826 JUNE 2019Petrol spilled on a runway that forces its closure is an extraordinary circumstance under Art.Germanwings · C-501/174 APRIL 2019A tyre damaged by a screw or other loose debris on the runway is an extraordinary circumstance under Art.Wirth · C-532/174 JULY 2018The airline that bears operational responsibility for the flight is the one that pays.Krüsemann · C-195/17 and joined cases17 APRIL 2018A wildcat strike is not an extraordinary circumstance.Krijgsman · C-302/1611 MAY 2017Telling the travel agent is not telling the passenger.Pešková · C-315/154 MAY 2017A bird strike is an extraordinary circumstance under Art.van der Lans · C-257/1417 SEPTEMBER 2015A technical problem that appears unexpectedly, is not attributable to poor maintenance and was not detected during routine checks still falls outside Art.Folkerts · C-11/1126 FEBRUARY 2013On directly connecting flights, compensation follows the arrival delay at the final destination.McDonagh · C-12/1131 JANUARY 2013The duty of care has no ceiling.Cuadrench Moré · C-139/1122 NOVEMBER 2012Time limits for a Regulation 261/2004 claim come from national law.Nelson · C-581/10 and C-629/1023 OCTOBER 2012The Grand Chamber confirmed Sturgeon in 2012 and rejected every challenge to it.Finnair v Lassooy · C-22/114 OCTOBER 2012Denied boarding under Art.Sousa Rodríguez · C-83/1013 OCTOBER 2011A flight that takes off and turns back is a cancellation.Eglītis and Ratnieks · C-294/1012 MAY 2011Reasonable measures under Art.Sturgeon · C-402/07 and C-432/0719 NOVEMBER 2009Sturgeon created the three hour rule.Wallentin-Hermann · C-549/0722 DECEMBER 2008Art.
UNDERLYING INSTRUMENT
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 · EUR-Lex · checked 7 August 2026