Wallentin-Hermann C-549/07
The airline blamed a technical fault
Airlines reach for "technical issue" as if it ends the conversation. The courts have said clearly that it does not.
Checked against its sources
The short answer
Usually still payable. Routine technical and mechanical faults are part of running an airline and are not extraordinary circumstances.
The one thing to know: In Wallentin-Hermann and van der Lans the Court held that faults arising in the ordinary course of operating aircraft are inherent in the job — so compensation stays due.
How it actually works
The test has two cumulative conditions: the event must not be inherent in the normal running of the airline, and it must be beyond its actual control. Aircraft break down as a matter of course, so most technical faults fail the first condition before the second is reached Art 5(3).
- The leading rule
- Technical problems that come to light during normal operation — including a part that spontaneously fails — are not extraordinary. The airline carries that risk, not you.
- The narrow exception
- Wallentin-Hermann gives two examples that would qualify: a hidden manufacturing defect affecting flight safety, revealed by the manufacturer or a competent authority in aircraft already in service, and damage from sabotage or terrorism. These are rare and the airline must prove them.
- External damage
- Damage from outside the aircraft's own systems, such as a bird strike or debris on the runway, can be extraordinary. A collision with the airport's mobile boarding stairs is not (Siewert, C-394/14, order of 14 November 2014).
- The manufacturer is not your problem
- In van der Lans the Court said an airline cannot refuse compensation by blaming a component maker. It can pursue the manufacturer itself afterwards Art 13.
- What to ask
- Request the specific nature of the fault in writing. A vague "technical reason" is a weak defence, and the burden of proof sits with the airline.
Doing it yourself costs nothing and keeps the full amount.
The judgments that decide it
| Case | Decided | What it held |
|---|---|---|
| Wallentin-Hermann, C-549/07 | 22 Dec 2008 | A technical problem is not extraordinary unless it stems from events not inherent in the airline's normal activity and beyond its control. How often faults happen is irrelevant, and meeting minimum maintenance rules is not proof of all reasonable measures. |
| van der Lans, C-257/14 | 17 Sep 2015 | Failure of a fuel pump and hydro-mechanical unit that had not reached their average lifetime: unexpected, not due to poor maintenance, not found in checks, and still not extraordinary. No component lasts forever. |
| Pešková, C-315/15 | 4 May 2017 | A bird strike is extraordinary. Delay caused by a second check by an expert of the airline's choice, after an authorised expert had already checked, is not. Only the extraordinary part of a delay is deducted. |
| Germanwings, C-501/17 | 4 Apr 2019 | Tyre damage from a screw on the runway is extraordinary, but the airline must prove it deployed all its resources in staff, equipment and money to avoid the tyre change causing a long delay. |
| Finnair, C-832/18 | 12 Mar 2020 | Failure of an “on condition” part, replaced only when it breaks, is in principle not extraordinary, even though the airline keeps a spare in stock. |
On hidden defects, the Commission's 2024 guidelines, citing two 2024 judgments (Finnair, C-385/23, and D., C-411/23), add that the defence can hold even if the manufacturer told the airline about the defect several months before the flight. That still requires a defect revealed across the type, not one part failing on one aircraft.
Ask the airline, in writing
- Which component failed, and the technical log entry for your flight.
- Whether the fault was found during maintenance, a pre-flight check, or in operation.
- If it claims a hidden manufacturing defect: the manufacturer's notice or the authority's airworthiness directive, with its reference and date.
- Whether a spare aircraft, spare part or engineer was available, and why the repair took as long as it did.
What you are owed whatever the cause
Most technical-fault claims succeed on compensation, but care and refund rights come first and apply either way. Extraordinary circumstances only switch off the fixed compensation in Article 7. They do not switch off the rest.
- Care while you wait
- Meals and refreshments in proportion to the wait, two phone calls or emails, and a hotel plus transport to it if you are stuck overnight Art 9. For a delay this starts at 2, 3 or 4 hours depending on distance Art 6(1). In McDonagh (C-12/11, 2013) the volcanic-ash closure of European airspace was extraordinary, and the airline still owed care for the whole wait, with no time limit.
- Refund or rerouting
- If the flight is cancelled, you choose between a refund of the unused ticket within seven days and rerouting at the earliest opportunity Art 5(1)(a), Art 8. If a delay reaches five hours you can abandon the trip and take the refund instead Art 6(1)(iii).
- If the airline did not provide it
- Buy what is reasonable, keep every receipt and claim it back. The Court limits this to costs that were necessary, appropriate and reasonable, so a sandwich and a mid-range hotel, not a suite.
Stranded overnight
No hotel from the airline?
Book a reasonable room near the airport yourself and keep the receipt, then claim the cost back from the airline. You recover what was necessary, appropriate and reasonable: a mid-range hotel, not a suite (McDonagh, C-12/11).
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What changes from 23 October 2027
Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 adds a non-exhaustive list of extraordinary circumstances as an Annex to Regulation 261, applicable from 23 October 2027. Ordinary technical faults are not on it. The relevant entries are:
- Annex (3)(c): “hidden manufacturing or design defects, revealed by the manufacturer or a competent authority, which are incompatible with the safe operation of the flight”. Design defects are new; the case law spoke only of manufacturing defects.
- Annex (3)(i): damage to the aircraft caused by third parties the airline is not responsible for, by animals or by foreign objects, where incompatible with safe operation.
- Annex (3)(a): damage caused by sabotage or terrorism.
The recitals say an event must meet every element of a listed entry to count. The airline still has to prove a direct causal link and all reasonable measures new Art 6c(2), and a refusal must name the circumstance and explain both new Art 7(9). The full reform explained →
UK261 is not affected by the reform. The pre-2021 judgments above remain part of the case law UK courts apply.
What to do now
- Photograph the evidence — the departure board, the app before it updates, the arrival time when the door opens. The full checklist →
- Write to the airline, quoting the article and the flight. Use the template →
- Give them 28 days, then escalate free to the national enforcement body.
- Check your time limit — it varies by country: six years in England, one year in Poland and Belgium, and unsettled in Italy. See yours →
Questions
The airline blamed a technical fault: am I owed compensation?
Usually still payable. Routine technical and mechanical faults are part of running an airline and are not extraordinary circumstances.
The airline says the fault was unforeseeable and its maintenance was up to date. Is that a defence?
No. In van der Lans (C-257/14, 2015) the Court of Justice held that a fault which occurs unexpectedly, is not due to poor maintenance and was not found in routine checks is still not extraordinary. Wallentin-Hermann (C-549/07, 2008) adds that complying with the minimum maintenance rules does not by itself prove all reasonable measures.
What if a bird hit the aircraft or debris on the runway damaged a tyre?
Those are extraordinary circumstances: Pešková (C-315/15, 2017) for bird strikes and Germanwings (C-501/17, 2019) for a screw on the runway. But the airline must still show it used all the staff, equipment and money at its disposal to stop the repair turning into a long delay, and a second, unnecessary safety check by an expert of its choice does not count.
What counts as a hidden manufacturing defect?
A defect that the manufacturer or a competent authority reveals affects aircraft already in service and impinges on flight safety. A single component failing on a single aircraft is not one, even if the airline blames the manufacturer.
How do I claim it?
Write to the airline first, quoting the article and flight, and allow 28 days. It is free and you keep the whole amount. Escalate to the national enforcement body if refused.