Case Review of T-134/25 (LOT Polish Airlines)

Abstract

An order issued by the Air Traffic Controller may qualify as extraordinary circumstances if such order meets the requirements of the principle of extraordinary circumstances within the definitions from the precedents of the Court of Justice of the European Union. Though in the consideration, whether an order may constitute extraordinary circumstances. or not, it does not take the underlying reason of the issued order as part of the consideration. The order itself does not have to directly cause a delay of 3 hours. In the case where an order was only binding upon an earlier flight. But due to aircraft rotation prepared for the second flight to use the same aircraft after an earlier flight, which affects the awaiting flight to be delayed. Airlines may raise the defence of extraordinary circumstances if it can be proven that, an order issued by the Air Traffic Control that was binding upon the earlier flight has direct casual link to the delay of the subsequent flight to be exempted from an obligation to compensate passengers in delayed flight.