Sturgeon and Delay Claims Under EC Regulation 261: An Update

The industry has now had several months to adjust to the new landscape for delay claims under EC Regulation 261 which was created by the European Court of Justice ruling in Sturgeon v Condor/Böck v Air France published on 19 November 2009.

The Sturgeon judgment reinterpreted the Regulation so as to read into it an obligation on airlines to pay compensation of between €250-€600 for flight delays exceeding three hours. In doing so, the ECJ has essentially "rewritten" Regulation 261 by construing it in a manner which can never have been intended at the time this legislation came into effect in February 2005.

The Sturgeon judgment has been the focus of intense criticism from the airline industry and its professional advisers and of lobbying efforts with national regulatory authorities and the European Commission. The purpose of this note is not to rehearse the many criticisms which can be made of the judgment, or the many reasons why the ECJ erred badly in