Passengers whose flights are delayed may be entitled to compensation if they reach their destination three or more hours after the initially scheduled arrival time, ruled the Court of Justice on 19 November (joined cases C-402/07 and C-432/07). The judgment makes a significant change in Regulation 261/2004 on air passengers’ rights, which provides for compensation for cancelled flights but not for delays. The two cases helped clarify the concept of «delay» and «cancellation» of a flight. Regulation 261/2004 is unclear in this respect (after how long a delay is a flight considered cancelled?) but the distinction is very important because cancellation entitles passengers to compensation – from €250 to €600 per passenger -, but delays do not.

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