Air transport law: the Court of Justice of the EU rules that a boarding pass constitutes proof enabling its holder to claim compensation in the event of a flight delay
In a ruling issued on 6 March 2025 (case C-20/24), the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that a boarding pass constitutes proof enabling its holder to claim compensation in the event of a flight delay, within the meaning of Regulation 261/2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights.
According to Article 2 of this regulation, a ‘ticket’ is a valid document establishing the right to transport or something equivalent issued or authorised by the air carrier or its authorised agent; while a ‘reservation’ is the fact that a passenger is in possession of a ticket or other proof indicating that the reservation has been accepted and registered by the air carrier or tour operator.
Article 3 provides, among other things, that Regulation 261/2004 applies (i) if passengers have a confirmed reservation for the flight concerned and present themselves at check-in (ii) to passengers in possession of a ticket issued by an air carrier or tour operator as part of a loyalty programme or other commercial programmes. This article also stipulates that the regulation does not apply to passengers travelling at a reduced rate.
In this case, travellers purchased a package holiday from a tour operator via a travel agency, including tickets for a Tenerife-Warsaw flight. This flight was delayed by 22 hours on arrival. The passengers requested compensation, providing their boarding cards as proof of a confirmed reservation. However, the air carrier rejected their request, citing the fact that the package holiday had been purchased by the agency at a preferential rate from the organiser, which, according to Article 3 of the Regulation, would exclude the right to compensation due to this reduced rate.
The CJEU ruled that Articles 2 and 3 of Regulation 261/2004 should be interpreted as meaning that a boarding card constitutes ‘other proof’ within the meaning of Article 2(g), which makes it possible to presume that a passenger in possession of this card has a confirmed reservation. The Court also stated that a passenger is not considered to have travelled at a reduced rate when the organiser has purchased the tickets from the carrier under market conditions. Moreover, given that the package holiday was purchased through a travel agency and not directly by the passenger, it is up to the air carrier to demonstrate that the passenger travelled at a reduced rate
