By: 9 July 2014

Jet2.com has filed an application to the Supreme Court to appeal the decision of the Court of Appeal in the Huzar v Jet2.com case, which was handed down in June.

The case originally examined whether or not a delay caused by a technical problem can be considered an extraordinary circumstance under the terms of Regulation 261, therefore exempting the air carrier from paying compensation to passengers. Prior to the decision both parties had welcomed the clarity this case would bring as it intended to set a binding precedent for all future flight claims in England and Wales.

The Court of Appeal found against the airline and said that a technical problem was not an extraordinary circumstance. As a result, passengers were entitled to compensation for long delays and cancellations caused by such issues.

Bott & Co, which represented Huzar in the case, said the decision to appeal will mean that delayed air passengers looking to bring a claim against the airlines as Jet2 will have further to wait to see if their claims will have any success.

David Bott, the senior partner at Bott & Co, said it disappointing that Jet2 had decided to appeal.

“Their submissions are largely the same as those which were unsuccessful at Manchester County Court and at the Court of Appeal,” he said.

“In effect they are running an argument which has failed twice and which has already been decided upon in several cases in the Court of Justice of the European Union.

“Ultimately in this instance the losers are the passengers. For them, justice delayed is justice denied.”