Travellers who have claimed compensation from SAS due to the pilot strike could end up being a case for the EU's Court of Justice.

The outcome of the case will have precedential significance for a large number of passengers.

During the seven-day strike in the spring of last year, SAS was forced to cancel nearly 4,000 flights. Many travellers have since sought compensation from the airline.

In late August, the National Board for Consumer Disputes (ARN) ruled that the passengers were not entitled to compensation. This was because the airlines are not obliged to pay if the delay is due to ”extraordinary circumstances” under the EU's Air Passenger Rights Regulation.

”We have assessed that the pilot strike is precisely such an extraordinary event that the airline may be exempted from paying this standardised EU compensation,” said Marcus Isgren, chairman and head of ARN, to TT.

But now the Attunda District Court has requested a preliminary ruling from the EU Court of Justice on the interpretation of ”extraordinary circumstances”.

The reason the district court is requesting a preliminary ruling is the lack of guiding decisions from the EU Court of Justice on whether a lawfully initiated strike constitutes an ”extraordinary circumstance”.

The outcome of the case will have precedential significance for a large number of other passengers who have claimed compensation from SAS due to the strike.

In anticipation of a decision from the EU's Court of Justice, the case is postponed at Attunda District Court.

Source: TT