It is apparent from paragraph 23 of the Wallentin judgment that a technical problem can be considered to be covered by ‘unexpected flight safety shortcomings’ and is therefore an ‘event’ within the meaning of paragraph 22 of the Wallentin judgment; the circumstances surrounding that event may nevertheless be regarded as extraordinary if they relate to an event which is not inherent in the normal exercise of the activities of the air carrier and beyond the actual control of that carrier on account of its nature or origin, as provided in paragraph 23 of the Wallentin judgment; according to paragraph 24 thereof, the resolution of a technical problem which can be traced back to poor maintenance of an aircraft ...[+++] is inherent in the normal exercise of an air carrier’s activity; therefore, according to paragraph 25 of the Wallentin judgment, such technical problems cannot constitute extraordinary circumstances.

On financial compensation, therefore, the proposal confirms the Court decision in the text of the Regulation but fixes the deadline for compensation at 5 hours for all intra-EU flights and short international flights of less than 3,500 km. For the remaining international flights the deadline is 9 hours for flights of less than 6,000 km and 12 hours for flights of more than 6,000 km. The aim is to give the air carriers a reasonable time to solve the problem and encourage them to operate the flight, not just cancel it.

Those airlines submit that EU law cannot be relied upon as the basis for claims by passengers for compensation in respect of flights which have been the subject of delay prior to the date of delivery of the present judgment, except as regards passengers who had already brought court proceedings for such compensation as of the date of the judgment.

Among those surrendered, thanks to the European arrest warrant, were a failed London bomber caught in Italy, a German serial killer tracked down in Spain, a suspected drug smuggler from Malta extradited from the UK, a gang of armed robbers sought by Italy whose members were then arrested in six different EU countries and very recently a large international operation against highway cargo theft networks was dismantled in five countries.

‘accident’ means an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft which, in the case of a manned aircraft, takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight until such time as all such persons have disembarked, or in the case of an unmanned aircraft, takes place between the time the aircraft is ready to move with the purpose of flight until such time it comes to rest at the end of the flight and the primary propulsion system is shut down, in which:

The Air Passenger Compensation Regulation generally grants passengers assistance during a delay to their flight. In its judgment in Sturgeon and Others , the Court of Justice held moreover that passengers whose flights are delayed may also be compensated, even though the regulation expressly grants a right to compensation only when flights are cancelled, provided that they reach their final destination three hours or more after the scheduled arrival time.