Airline bankruptcy: Court dismisses action against organizers
The Munich District Court dismissed in the first instance a claim by a passenger who wanted compensation from his tour operator for a flight delay that had occurred due to the insolvency of Small Planet Germany. The passenger and his wife wanted to fly from Nuremberg to Marsa Alam on October 2, 2018. The tickets were included in a package tour, so the tour operator was the contractual partner of the two. Small Planet Airlines had to file for insolvency on September 18, 2018. The operator then rebooked the flight to another company. This meant that the departure was delayed by a few hours. The tour operator voluntarily transferred a price reduction of 100 euros. But that was not enough for the plaintiff, because he demanded a total of 800 euros for himself and his wife, citing EU Regulation 261/2004, among other things. The Munich District Court is of the opinion, however, that no binding flight times were agreed between the travelers and the operator and therefore no compensation is to be paid. The court also pointed out that the postponement was to be regarded as "a mere inconvenience in the context of mass tourism". The plaintiff also stated that his wife had suffered circulatory problems due to the four-hour wait at the airport. The Munich District Court did not address this further and dismissed this fact by saying that there was a pre-existing condition and the health condition was not the subject of the package travel contract.
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