aviation | In Principle

Since the landmark Court of Justice ruling in 2009 in C-402/07, Sturgeon, it has generally been accepted that when it comes to the right to compensation from an air carrier under the Air Passengers Rights Regulation, a flight delay of more than three hours puts the passenger in the same position as if the flight were cancelled. But in 2024, the Court of Justice held in C-474/22, Laudamotion GmbH v flightright GmbH, that the case is not so clear-cut, and there are somewhat different rights and obligations associated with flight delay than with flight cancellation.

According to recent press reports, as many as 210 air carriers that operated air transport on routes to and from Poland in 2018 may be fined for breach of the Passenger Name Record Data Processing Act. In just four months (June–September 2021), the commander-in-chief of the Border Guard instituted some 17,000 proceedings against them seeking to impose administrative penalties, exposing them to fines that could total as high as PLN 640 million. Given that between 2018 and 2020 there were nearly 940,000 passenger-related flight operations (on both domestic and international routes) in Poland, this may represent just the tip of the iceberg.

On 11 February 2021, the Regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure of 12 January 2021 on Air Traffic Obstacles, Obstacle Limitation Surfaces and Dangerous Devices came into force. In the method of notification and marking of air traffic obstacles, it replaced the regulation of 25 June 2003. Will wind turbines still need to be marked under the new regulation? If so, who should mark them and how? And, just as importantly, does existing marking need to be brought into compliance with the current regulations, and if so, when?

Since 15 March 2020, Poland has had a ban on civil aircraft landing on international passenger flights. Since 16 March, domestic passenger flights have also been banned, except for flights in the public or state interest. Do passengers whose flights have been cancelled as a result of this ban have the right to compensation from the air carriers that were to operate those flights?

Linie lotnicze często anulują bilet, jeśli podróżny nie stawił się na lot w pierwszą stronę lub na lot na pierwszym odcinku podróży. Czy taka praktyka jest zgodna z prawem?

The Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment offers strong protection to sellers, lessors and financers of aircraft. More and more European countries are considering ratification of the convention. Should Poland be one of them?

In strictly defined instances a passenger has the right to compensation for a flight delay, but the law does not say exactly how the period of the delay should be calculated. The European Court of Justice recently answered this question.

Polish law provides great discretion in choosing the language for contracts. But in regulated industries, such as aviation, this rule may be modified.

Suppliers to troubled airlines increasingly seek security for their claims. Is temporary seizure of an aircraft an effective instrument?

A right to compensation may be deduced from Regulation 261/2004 not only for cancellation of a flight, but also for a delay of 3 hours or more. Passengers eagerly exploit this right, but the court decisions continue to raise new controversies.

LOT Polish Airlines is not the only carrier seeking public aid. Airlines in other countries have also been forced to seek state support. Whether the effort succeeds depends primarily on how the aid is assessed by the European Commission.

In the area of ground services, there is a battle between the interests of airports, groundhandling agents, staff and consumers. Any legal changes in this field typically represent a compromise between the interests of numerous stakeholders.