180 Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium passengers compensated in first Belgian class action suit

The 180 passengers of Thomas Cook who had been delayed 8 hours after a collision between a plane and an ambulift were compensated by the company, says Test-Aankoop/Achats on its website.

In this context, the consumer protection association filed the first action for collective redress in Belgium. Test-Aankoop/Achats had introduced this “class action” in October 2015 before the Brussels Court of First Instance. This was the first such procedure in Belgium. A lawsuit against a company or institution has been possible since 2014 in the country.

On 23 March 2015, nearly 200 passengers had to wait 8 hours in Tenerife after an aircraft collided with an ambulift on the tarmac. The airlines are required to compensate the passengers for 400 euros for any delay of more than three hours, said Test-Aankoop/Achats. Thomas Cook, for its part, invoked “exceptional circumstances”, which constitute an exception in European legislation.

In the course of the proceedings, Thomas Cook finally proposed to compensate the delayed passengers and award them 400 euros, Test-Aankoop/Achats notes. The judge then terminated the proceedings.

Thomas Cook confirmed the information without adding any comments.

Source: Belga, Test-Aankoop/Achats