The European Union has extended its laws protecting air passengers on delayed or cancelled flights to include connecting flights that are not operated by an EU carrier.
The non-EU flight must be part of an itinerary that includes a flight departing from a European country.
In a ruling this month, the EU said that travellers on disrupted flights that connect outside of the EU are entitled to up to US$700 in compensation, to be paid by the European carrier that performed the first flight, even if the connecting flight is on a non-EU airline.
The ruling comes from a case brought by 11 passengers who booked a flight with the Czech carrier Ceske from Prague to Bangkok via Abu Dhabi.
The Ceske flight arrived on time but the connecting flight from Abu Dhabi to Bangkok on Etihad Airways was eight hours late.
The European Court of Justice ruled that because the Etihad codeshare flight was made on the same reservation as the Ceske flight, which departed an EU state, the delay of more than three hours entitles those passengers to the same protections they would have on EU fights.
This new rule extends the protections consumers already have in the EU that entitles flyers on delayed (more than three hours) or cancelled flights up to US$700 in compensation.
The regulation applies to all flights inside the EU and from the EU, as well as to the EU if operated by EU carriers. It does not apply if the flight disruption is caused by factors out of the airline's control such as bad weather, political unrest or worker strikes.
Source: Travel Weekly USA