US Airways Not Liable For Delay Under ‘All Reasonable Measures' Defense

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois recently granted summary judgment in favor of US Airways after finding that the airline was not liable for a ten-hour delay of a flight from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Chicago, Illinois. In Bernfeld v. US Airways, Inc., the plaintiffs were traveling from Tel Aviv to Chicago, with a stopover in Philadelphia. The plane that was to fly them from Philadelphia to Chicago suffered a bird strike on approach into Philadelphia, which necessitated certain maintenance inspections and made it unavailable for the plaintiffs' flight to Chicago. The uncontroverted evidence showed that US Airways made every effort to locate a spare aircraft, but that none was available. Plaintiffs asserted delay claims under Article 19 of the Montreal Convention, as well as claims for breach of its contract of carriage and violation of Israel's Aviation Services Law.