Supreme Court turns down appeals from Jet2 and Thomson

The Supreme Court has rejected appeal applications from Jet2 and Thomson in two landmark flight delay cases worth billions of pounds to consumers.

The Court of Appeal judgments in Huzar v Jet2 and Dawson v Thomson, handed down in July, will stand, causing considerable concern for the airline industry. Holds placed on thousands of passengers' claims pending the Supreme Court's decisions should now be lifted and airlines should now begin settling the stayed claims in line with the Court of Appeal judgments.

An estimated 2.36 million passengers per year in England and Wales are set to benefit from the Huzar judgment, equivalent to approximately £876m in compensation claims. The decision in Dawson opens up an estimated £3.89bn in historic flight compensation.

David Bott, senior partner at Bott & Co, commented: "This is a landmark day not just for Mr Huzar and Mr Dawson but for passengers everywhere. Two journeys which started with a delay have now finished, nearly eight years later in Mr Dawson's case.

"We will now be writing to the airlines, asking them to acknowledge the judgments, recognise their obligations and deal with these claims as promptly as possible. The Supreme Court's decision has provided total clarity in the law, which will benefit both airlines and passengers going forward."

The Huzar ruling states airlines must pay flight compensation for qualifying delays caused by technical problems as they are not considered an 'extraordinary circumstance' under flight compensation regulation EU261. The Dawson judgment confirms that consumers in England and Wales have six years to bring a claim for flight delay compensation.

The Supreme Court's rejection of these appeals is the latest setback for the aviation industry following a European Court of Justice (CJEU) ruling that defined a flight as having officially arrived at its destination only when at least one of its doors is opened, settling many disputes over when a flight has landed and when a passenger can claim compensation from the airline.

The decision in Germanwings GmbH v Ronny Henning is significant in the EU, entitling passengers to €250 in compensation if a flight is delayed by more than three hours.

John van der Luit-Drummond is legal reporter for Solicitors Journal