C-12/11 · 2013 · UK 261 AND EC 261
Denise McDonagh v Ryanair Ltd
The duty of care has no ceiling. The Court held in 2013 that closing airspace after a volcanic eruption is an extraordinary circumstance, which removes the Art. 7 compensation, but that the Art. 9 duty to provide meals, refreshments and accommodation continues for the whole period passengers wait for re-routing, with no temporal or monetary limit.
REVIEWED AGAINST RULE SET V6 AND THE CITED PRIMARY SOURCES · UPDATED 7 AUGUST 2026
- COURT
- Court of Justice of the European Union (Third Chamber)
- CASE NUMBER
- C-12/11
- JUDGMENT
- 31 January 2013
- CITATION
- ECLI:EU:C:2013:43
What the case was about
The Eyjafjallajökull eruption closed much of European airspace in April 2010. Ms McDonagh was stranded in Faro for about a week.
Ryanair argued that an event on that scale went beyond extraordinary circumstances altogether and released it from the care duty as well as from compensation.
What it changed
- It separated the two duties for good. An excuse that defeats compensation leaves the care obligation standing.
- Care costs that were necessary, appropriate and reasonable can be recovered, with the assessment left to the national court.
- This is the ruling behind hotel and meal reimbursement during weather and airspace closures, where compensation itself is generally not due.
SOURCES
- Case C-12/11 McDonagh v Ryanair, judgment of 31 January 2013 (ECLI:EU:C:2013:43) · EUR-Lex · checked 7 August 2026
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Art. 9 · EUR-Lex · checked 7 August 2026