Passengers Not Entitled To Recovery Under EU 261 In United States Courts

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While passengers are not able to pursue pure EU 261 claims in the U.S., they still may succeed with state court breach of contract claims against carriers based on flight delays or cancellations...
United States Transport

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a decision of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois holding that European Parliament and Council Regulation No. 261/2004 (EU 261) cannot be judicially enforced outside the European Union. EU 261 allows passengers de-parting from airports in EU Member States to claim damages against air carriers for denial of boarding, delay, or cancellation, and because of the favorable damages provided by the provision, passengers have attempted to make claims un-der EU 261 here in the United States. In this class action lawsuit filed against Delta, the Seventh Circuit agreed with the district court's determination that "direct actions to enforce EU 261 rights are limited to courts in EU Member States."

While passengers are not able to pursue pure EU 261 claims in the U.S., they still may succeed with state court breach of contract claims against carriers based on flight delays or cancellations if EU 261 has been expressly incorporated into the airline's contract of carriage. As European carriers have incorporated EU 261 into the contracts of carriage, passengers are far more likely to recover flight-delay damages in U.S. courts from European carriers than from domestic carriers. Volodarskiy v. Delta Airlines, Inc., 784 F.3d 349 (7th Cir. 2015).

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