The Supreme Court gave judgment, for the delays of crew sickness, airlines should take the responsibility to pay compensation for the passengers. The CAA welcomes the court decision.
The CAA said, “it expects every carrier which has refused claims on the grounds of staff illness to now pay the compensation owed” and said it “will monitor how airlines comply closely”.
then Supreme Court ruling in the case of Lipton vs BA Cityflyer in January 2018, Mr. and Mrs. Lipton were experienced a delay to their flight caused by crew sickness.
They booked the BA city flyer, and it was cancelled due to the pilot’s illness, so they had to take an alternative flight. The Liptons’ claim to the court, but they won in the court of BA City Flyer – a regional subsidiary of British Airways.
If flights are delayed due to staff sickness airlines must pay passengers. Previously, airlines could avoid paying by claiming “extraordinary circumstances.”
“Given this judgment, it’s our view that delays and cancellations caused by staff illness – whether they are a pilot or a member of crew – do not count as an extraordinary circumstance.”
Bowles said: “We expect every airline that has refused claims due to staff illness or placed them on hold pending the outcome of the appeal to the Supreme Court, to now pay the compensation owed to passengers.
“We also expect airlines to apply our interpretation to existing claims and future disruptions.”
The CAA said: “We will monitor how airlines comply with this closely.”
UK and EU law protect passengers in these cases. The Supreme Court has confirmed that sick staff is not an excuse.
