"Unfortunately, your flight was affected by extraordinary circumstances beyond our control." Tens of thousands of air passengers receive this sentence every year in response to a compensation claim. In a significant proportion of cases, it does not stand up to legal scrutiny. Knowing what this defence actually covers is the single best way to avoid dropping a valid claim.
The legal framework under EC 261/2004
The European regulation grants fixed compensation where a flight arrives at the final destination 3 hours late or more, where it is cancelled with less than 14 days' notice, or in cases of denied boarding. The amounts do not depend on the ticket price:
- €250 for flights of 1,500 km or less;
- €400 for intra-EU flights over 1,500 km and other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km;
- €600 for flights over 3,500 km outside the European Union.
Article 5(3) sets out one exception: the carrier owes no compensation if it proves the disruption was caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Two conditions apply cumulatively — the event must be genuinely extraordinary, and unavoidable despite reasonable measures.
The burden of proof sits with the airline
This is the most frequently overlooked point. Passengers do not have to prove that the event was ordinary. The carrier must evidence both the reality of the cause it invokes and its direct causal link with the delay actually suffered. A generic email referring to "operational reasons", "adverse weather" or "an unexpected technical issue" is an assertion, not proof. The Court of Justice of the European Union also requires this derogation to be interpreted strictly, because it departs from the regulation's protective purpose.
The refusals most often open to challenge
Technical faults
This is the most commonly misused ground. In Wallentin-Hermann (C-549/07), the Court held that a technical problem arising during or revealed by maintenance is not an extraordinary circumstance: breakdowns are inherent in the normal exercise of an air carrier's activity. van der Lans (C-257/14) confirmed that the premature failure of a component, even unforeseen, falls within ordinary fleet management. Only hidden manufacturing defects disclosed by the manufacturer or the safety authority, and acts of sabotage or terrorism, escape this rule.
Strikes by the airline's own staff
Internal industrial action — including a "wildcat" strike following a restructuring announcement (Krüsemann, C-195/17) and a lawfully notified pilots' strike (Airhelp v SAS, C-28/20) — is in principle not extraordinary: it belongs to the normal management of the business. External strikes, such as air traffic controllers or independent airport ground handlers, may by contrast qualify.
Vaguely invoked weather
Genuinely hazardous weather (severe thunderstorms, dense fog, heavy snow, volcanic ash) is extraordinary. But the carrier must show that conditions affected your specific flight at the relevant time. If other aircraft departed normally from the same airport within the same window, the argument weakens considerably.
Knock-on delays and aircraft rotation
Where an earlier incident affected a previous leg flown by the same aircraft, the airline must still demonstrate that it took all reasonable steps to contain the knock-on effect. In Transportes Aéreos Portugueses (C-74/19), the Court confirmed that a carrier must consider re-routing passengers on an alternative flight, including one operated by a competing airline, where that remains reasonable. Doing nothing for twelve hours is not a reasonable measure.
When the refusal is usually justified
For balance, several causes are recognised as genuinely extraordinary: bird strikes (Pešková, C-315/15), disruptive passengers endangering safety, fuel spilled on a runway forcing its closure (Moens, C-159/18), airspace closures, bomb threats and exceptional air traffic control instructions. Even then, the airline must prove it took reasonable measures to limit the resulting delay — for instance by securing a replacement aircraft or re-routing passengers promptly.
What remains owed regardless
The exemption applies only to the fixed compensation. The right to care — meals, refreshments, hotel accommodation and transfers — and the right to re-routing or a refund survive in full, without any time or cost ceiling (McDonagh, C-12/11). An airline that cites weather to refuse your hotel room is making a second mistake on top of the first.
How to respond to an "extraordinary circumstances" refusal
- Keep every piece of evidence: boarding pass, notifications, screenshots of actual departure and arrival times, all correspondence.
- Ask in writing for the precise nature of the event and the supporting documentation.
- Cross-check the story: other departures from the same airport that day, the aircraft's prior rotation, the real door-opening time on arrival.
- Do not give up after one email: an initial rejection does not extinguish your right. Claims can generally be submitted for flights going back up to 3 years.
At Airlines Quick Refund, we review these refusals free of charge and pursue documented amicable negotiations with carriers. Our 35% fee is charged on success only: no result, no cost.
Was your flight delayed or cancelled and the airline blamed extraordinary circumstances? Check your claim in two minutes with our compensation calculator.