Staff shortages in baggage handling can be an extraordinary circumstance

A flight was delayed by more than three hours. The delay was mainly caused by the fact that it took a long time to load luggage onto the aircraft due to a lack of staff. The European Court of Justice had to decide whether the lack of staff at the airport operator who was responsible for loading baggage could be considered an extraordinary circumstance.

Different service provider - reasonable measure?

The European Court of Justice ruled that staff shortages at airport operators can constitute an extraordinary circumstance. To avoid compensating passengers, the airline must demonstrate that the delay was unavoidable no matter what measures they took.

In this case, as a reasonable measure, the airline could have used another service provider with enough capacity to provide the service without delay.

IUNO's opinion

The case shows that delays due to staff shortages when loading baggage can constitute an extraordinary circumstance and exempt the airline from paying compensation - if all reasonable measures have been taken.

IUNO recommends that airlines investigate the possibility of using other providers when facing delays due to staff shortages during baggage loading. However, in many cases, this is not possible for practical reasons. For example, when only one or a few ground-handling companies are present at the airport. In addition, in strike situations, it is forbidden to use another service provider to compensate for staff shortages at the provider. In those cases, there are fewer requirements for when all reasonable measures have been taken.

[Judgment of the European Court of Justice of 16 May 2024 in case C-405/23]