Evaluation of the EU Regulation 261/2004 on Rights of Air Passengers in the Event of Delayed and Cancelled Flights

10 Pages Posted: 28 Apr 2021

See all articles by Bariyima Sylvester Kokpan

Bariyima Sylvester Kokpan

Rivers State University - Department of Jurisprudence and International Law

Godwin Okeke

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Date Written: April 15, 2021

Abstract

In contracts of carriage by air, there are bound to be challenges, disagreements and possible recourse to litigation. There is no complete uniformity in substantive and procedural laws binding air carriers and passengers in the event of disagreement as the Warsaw and Montreal Conventions recognized the applicability of local circumstance and contractual peculiarity. To fill in this gap, the European Community Parliament enacted a common regulation 261/2004 stating the obligations of air carriers to passengers and the right of passengers in the event of certain categories of breach of contract of carriage within the region. Following conflicting interpretations of the regulation, an Interpretative Guidelines was established in 2016 to clarified grey areas in the regulation. Nonetheless, the substantive rights seem to be defective in certain areas. This paper therefore, seeks to evaluate the provisions of the regulation by highlighting the inadequacies therein. The paper found out that there is no provision for delay of passengers at the tarmac, even as the distinction between a delayed and cancelled flight remained clumsy. This paper recommends the amendment of certain provisions of the regulation to meet the expectations of air passengers.

Keywords: EU Regulation 261/2004, Rights of Air Passengers, Delayed and Canceled Flights, Aviation

Suggested Citation

Kokpan, Bariyima and Okeke, Godwin, Evaluation of the EU Regulation 261/2004 on Rights of Air Passengers in the Event of Delayed and Cancelled Flights (April 15, 2021). INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF LAW AND JURISPRUDENCE, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3835227

Bariyima Kokpan (Contact Author)

Rivers State University - Department of Jurisprudence and International Law ( email )

Godwin Okeke

affiliation not provided to SSRN

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