Extraordinary Circumstances: When Airlines Don't Have to Pay

Under EU261 Article 5(3), an airline is exempt from paying compensation only if it can prove the disruption was caused by extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Both conditions must be met: the circumstance must be extraordinary AND unavoidable.

The burden of proof is on the airline, not the passenger. The airline must demonstrate both that the circumstance was extraordinary and that all reasonable measures were taken. If they cannot prove both, compensation is owed.

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  Severe weather making flight operations unsafe (e.g., storms, heavy fog, volcanic ash).

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  Air traffic control strikes or ATC restrictions beyond the airline's control.

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  Security threats including bomb threats and airport evacuations.

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  Political instability affecting flight operations.

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  Hidden manufacturing defects in the aircraft (very narrow category).

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  Routine technical faults discovered during maintenance checks.

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  Crew scheduling problems including crew exceeding duty hours.

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  IT system outages caused by the airline.

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  Bird strikes (most court rulings say these are foreseeable and manageable).

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  Airline staff strikes (recent CJEU rulings increasingly hold these are not extraordinary).

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  Late-arriving aircraft from a previous rotation.

The trend in court rulings is toward narrowing extraordinary circumstances. Courts have consistently held that events inherent to airline operations (mechanical faults, crew issues, operational planning) are not extraordinary, even if they are unexpected. See EU261 regulation text for the legal basis.

The EU Court of Justice (CJEU) has issued several landmark rulings that define extraordinary circumstances. In the Wallentin-Hermann case (C-549/07), the court ruled that technical problems are generally not extraordinary because they are inherent to airline operations. In the van der Lans case (C-257/14), the court confirmed that unexpected technical faults do not exempt airlines unless they stem from a hidden manufacturing defect.

For more on how airlines misuse extraordinary circumstances claims, see our guide on how airlines avoid paying EU261. For strike-related disruptions specifically, see our strike guide.

1. 1

   Request written documentation of the specific extraordinary circumstance.

2. 2

   Ask what reasonable measures the airline took to avoid the disruption.

3. 3

   Verify the claimed weather conditions using NOAA, Eurocontrol, or airport data.

4. 4

   If the reason is a "technical issue," push back: most technical faults are not extraordinary under CJEU case law.

5. 5

   If rejected, escalate to the NEB in the departure country with your evidence.

Not sure about your situation? Check your flight and we will assess whether the airline's extraordinary circumstances claim holds up.