- The EU Court ruled airlines cannot automatically refuse compensation by citing air-traffic control restrictions.
- Carriers must identify the underlying event and prove it was exceptional, outside their control, and affected safe, timely operations.
- A Polish court will assess the weather and other delay causes separately, including whether airline-attributable delay reached three hours.
The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled on October 8, 2026, that airlines cannot automatically refuse delay compensation by pointing to air-traffic control. Carriers must show what caused the restriction and whether that event meets the legal test for an extraordinary circumstance.
The decision, Case C‑108/26 RX, D (Air traffic management decision), Judgment No. 144/2026, overturns an earlier General Court interpretation. Airspace restrictions and control instructions do not qualify on their own. Airlines routinely encounter them, the court said, so each case turns on the underlying cause.
Free toolB1/B2 Tourist Visa Stay Calculator online
The carrier must prove the event was exceptional and outside its effective control. That is the starting point.
An exceptionally serious event, including extreme weather, may qualify if it makes safe operation on the original schedule impossible. The court also said the General Court’s interpretation “vulnera[ted] effectively the unity and coherence of EU law” and annulled that ruling.
The dispute began with a passenger flying from İzmir, Türkiye, to Warsaw, Poland. The flight arrived more than three hours late. The aircraft had itself reached İzmir behind schedule after an earlier flight encountered airspace restrictions between Hungary and Romania, reportedly because of bad weather.
A separate technical problem affected the later flight before departure. The case therefore involved more than one possible source of delay.
The Polish court must assess the weather and the delay separately
When an extraordinary event and another cause, such as a technical fault, combine to delay a flight, the court said the proven contribution of the exceptional event must be deducted from the total delay. The passenger may still qualify if the time attributable to the airline meets the applicable threshold.
That threshold can include three hours at final arrival. The case now returns to the Polish national court, which must decide whether the weather was severe enough to qualify.
The air-traffic-management decision does not end the airline’s inquiry. The carrier must identify the event behind it, show that it was exceptional, establish that it prevented safe and timely operation, and calculate how much it added to the delay.
Under Regulation (EC) No. 261/2004, compensation may remain payable if the airline cannot establish that the event meets the exception. A technical fault does not generally become exceptional simply because it coincided with an air-traffic restriction.
The Polish court will now determine whether the reported weather conditions meet that standard in this passenger’s case.
This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Consult a qualified immigration attorney about your specific case.
