If neither the departure airport nor the destination airport is within the territory of the European Union, the passenger rights regulation is not applicable, according to the ECJ in its decision today.

A passenger booked a flight from Chişinău (Moldova) via Vienna to Bangkok (Thailand). Due to a technical problem, the first part of the flight had to be canceled at short notice. The air carrier concerned immediately rebooked the passenger on a connection via Istanbul. Despite the airline's best efforts, the arrival was delayed by two hours and 27 minutes despite the immediate replacement transport. If a flight is canceled less than seven days before the scheduled time of departure, the airline is generally obliged to pay compensation within the scope of the Air Passenger Rights Regulation, unless the passenger is able to rebook to alternative transportation to reach his final destination no more than two hours after the scheduled time of arrival reach.

However, the regulation only applies to passengers who either (i) board their flight at an airport in the European Union or (ii) are carried on an EU air carrier and the destination airport is located in the territory of the EU. How to deal with stopovers has always been the subject of heated debates in the past, in particular because air carriers from third countries very often enjoy a competitive advantage here, since they usually do not owe the passengers any compensation in the event of cancellations or delays in such cases. With today's decision, however, the European Court of Justice has stated that the Air Passenger Rights Regulation is not applicable to uniformly booked flights for which neither the (first) departure airport nor the destination airport are in the territory of the European Union. Compensation for such flights is therefore ruled out due to the lack of applicability of the regulation.

The importance of this decision is enormous, as it answers a crucial question about the scope of the Air Passenger Rights Regulation. The result of the ECJ is also absolutely understandable. Otherwise, a direct flight without landing in the EU would be outside the scope of the Air Passenger Rights Regulation, while a mere stopover within the Union would lead to its application.