Entitled to compensation for disruption on flights?

[Blackrock1]

Just wondering if there is any entitlement to compensation in the below scenario.

My wife took a flight on sunday due to land in Dublin at 5pm, attempted to land but couldnt so diverted to stansted, the passengers were left on that plane for 3-4 hours in stansted before being disembarked. They were then rebooked on a flight to Dublin for 7am the next morning.

Perhaps because the failed landing and delay was due to the weather there isnt any liability on the airline in this scenario?

 

[Freelance]

You could try claiming but you are very unlikely to succeed as they will inevitably plead the Extraordinary Circumstances get out clause due to adverse weather conditions.

See Here

If you arrived at your final destination with a delay of more than 3 hours, you are entitled to compensation, unless the delay was due to extraordinary circumstances.

Extraordinary circumstances - Delay​

Extraordinary circumstances can lead to more than one cancellation or delay at the final destination. Examples of events defined as extraordinary circumstances are air traffic management decisions, political instability, adverse weather conditions and security risks.

Situations which are not considered as extraordinary circumstances include:

• most technical problems which come to light during aircraft maintenance or are caused by failure to maintain an aircraft
• collision of mobile boarding stairs with an aircraft
• strikes by air carrier staff (internal strike action)

Any strike external to an air carrier that affects the operation of the airline may be considered as extraordinary circumstances. However, to be exempted from paying compensation, the airline must prove that: i) there is a link between the extraordinary circumstances and the delay or the cancellation, and ii) the delay or cancellation could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.

If the airline does not provide you with a satisfactory explanation, you can contact your national authority for further assistance.

 

[Des Pondent]

Perhaps because the failed landing and delay was due to the weather there isnt any liability on the airline in this scenario?

It is behind a paywall but here’s what Ryanair says about a similar event on Sunday in today’s Irish Times.

In response to queries a Ryanair spokeswoman said that it apologised “sincerely to all passengers for these delays and diversions, which were caused by tropical Storm Ashley and our obligation to prioritise passenger and aircraft safety”.

Referencing the Faro to Dublin flight that was diverted to the UK, she said “passengers were provided with snacks and refreshments for sale from the in-flight bar service, Passengers were not entitled to free food or drinks on-board and nor are they entitled to ‘compensation’ when these delays and diversions were caused by a tropical storm, which was clearly beyond Ryanair’s control”.

https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/...ring-storm-ashley-not-entitled-to-free-water/

 

[peemac]

If you think about it, if an airline had to pay compensation even if the delay was due to bad weather preventing them to land safely, some may start taking chances.

Thankfully, weather conditions that prevent the plane from landing is the call of the captain and is entirely safety based, thus it is very much a valid exclusion from the compensation rule.

They still have to get you back and pay reasonable expenses, but no compensation.