LIABILITY IN THE CANCELLATION AND LONG DELAY OF FLIGHT CAUSED BY “EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES”

Regarding European Union, Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 regulates the minimum rights of an air passenger in the event of denied boarding, cancellation or long delay of flights. Article 5/3 of the Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 enacts that air carrier can be excluded from civil liability, if it can prove that the flight is cancelled caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Article 5/3 of the Regulation has been criticized by many people including the actors in the airline industry and lawyers. In the meaning of Article 5/3 of the Regulation (EC), the concepts of “extraordinary circumstances” and “all reasonable measures” has caused some problems in practice. Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) takes in charge as the final interpretation authority in terms of the Regulation. The CJEU interpreted the concepts of “extraordinary circumstances” and “all reasonable measures” in many cases. In Turkey air passenger rights have been also regulated by the Regulation Rights of the Passengers by Air on the basis of the Regulation (EC) No 261/2004. Therefore, in this study, the exclusion from liability of air carrier in the event of cancellation or long delay of flight caused by the extraordinary circumstances will be examined within the Regulation Rights of the Passengers by Air, the Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 and Decisions of the CJEU