The German Supreme Court (BGH) recently decided two cases related to flight delays.In the first case, the plaintiff’s flight from Frankfurt/Main to Menorca was delayed more than 3 hrs because of a general strike in Greece which affected the previous circulation of the aircraft. The return flight to Frankfurt was also delayed more than 3 hrs because of a breakdown of the radar system in the Greek airspace which, again, delayed the arrival of the aircraft from a previous circulation.In the second case, the plaintiff’s flight from Stuttgart to Mallorca was delayed because of the general strike in Greece which also caused a temporary closure of the Greek air space.According to the lower courts’ findings, the defendant had tried to charter substitute aircrafts but failed because of the high demand caused by the general strike.In both cases the BGH held that the defendant airline company could refer to extraordinary circumstances as it had taken all reasonable measures. The fact that it did not keep any own substitute aircrafts was not regarded as decisive.Source: BGH press release 94/2014 of June 13, 2014
