Wheelchair users should be the first to leave the airplane
Ruling of the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe
The court week again saw some interesting rulings that can have an impact on our everyday lives. Among them, one particular ruling by the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe stands out as providing more justice and consideration for mobility-impaired passengers.
More justice for mobility-impaired passengers
Emil Excursion, a wheelchair user, went on a trip to Saint Petersburg with his wife in May 2019. For the trip, he booked flights from Frankfurt am Main with a stopover in Budapest. But he ran out of time when changing planes in Hungary, and still he and his wife Excursion had to be the last passengers to leave the plane. There was not enough time to catch the connecting flight to Saint Petersburg. As a consequence, they had to buy new tickets at a price of 227 euros per person and arrived at their destination almost ten hours later than planned.
As a result, the wheelchair user and his wife decided to sue for compensation. And their claim was justified, as the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe found. According to the Air Passenger Rights Ordinance, airlines are obliged to give priority to passengers with impaired mobility. This includes allowing them to be the first to board the aircraft and also the first to disembark. It was precisely this priority treatment that the airline failed to provide, which led to the delay that occurred.
Decision of the court in favour of the disabled passenger
The court ruled in favour of the excursion couple and obliged the airline not only to pay for the cost of the new tickets, but also to pay compensation of 800 euros for the flight delay of over three hours. Have you had similar difficulties during your travel? You can always file your case with us at www.myflyright.com and we will check if you are eligible for compensation.
This ruling is an important step towards more sensitivity and recognition of the needs of mobility-impaired travellers. It should ensure that such passengers are treated appropriately and that their rights are upheld. The decision of the Federal Supreme Court sends a signal for more accessibility in air travel and reminds us that consideration and equal treatment are of paramount importance for all passengers.
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About MYFLYRIGHT
MYFLYRIGHT is a legal tech company, specialized in the support of airline passengers affected by flight delays, flight cancellations, denied boarding, delayed or lost luggage and the refund of unused airline tickets. MYFLYRIGHT was founded 2016 in Hamburg, Germany. The company operates out of 3 offices, its headquarter in Hamburg and its branches in Prague, Czech Republic and Zaporizhia, Ukraine. Currently, MYFLYRIGHT employs a team of around 25 people working in Marketing, Operations, Legal, Customer Support and IT. The organization operates across 5 markets – Germany, United Kingdom, Romania, Austria, and Switzerland.
MYFLYRIGHT’s goal is to provide access to justice for all aviation passengers who experience irregularities in their flight transportation. Notably, 75% of all compensation requests submitted by passengers get rejected. Whereas, MYFLYRIGHT is able to successfully execute the applicable customer claims in more than 98% of cases at court.
Flight delay
In case of a 3 hours flight delay at arrival
Flight cancellation
In case of a cancelled flight 14 days before departure
Denied boarding
In case of overbooking / denied boarding
Delayed / Lost luggage
In case of arriving without the luggage
Ticket refund
In case of a missed / not boarded flight