Can you ask for a compensation if the delay was due to the de-icing process?
I was talking to a friend recently and he referred he was in a delayed flight from Brussels a couple of weeks ago due to de-icing.
Basically the plane already had an initial delay to which summed up the need to apply liquid to avoid ice on the wings. The pilot said it hadn't been done properly so they had to have it done a second time, which resulted in another wait of almost an hour.
Is he eligible for compensation or does this fall in the weather conditions situation. It's not very clear, he arrived more than three hours late, and service at the airport was terrible, but in other hand one feels that safety should come first and companies shouldn't have to weight about losing money on compensations vs safety.
Best Answer
The airline is not obliged to give compensation under EC 261 in an extraordinary circumstance. De-icing is not an extraordinary circumstance:
Good news for passengers: de-icing is not an extraordinary circumstance. Although airlines have in the past argued that it is, a district court in Germany ruled that airlines have to compensate their passengers. Flight-delayed.co.uk think that is a fair point. Airlines might not be able to control the weather, but they can control the organisation that surrounds the process of de-icing and getting the big birds aloft once more.
(Source)
Therefore, if under EC 261, you can request compensation.
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How long delay before you can claim?
If your flight's delayed for 3 or more hours You're entitled to get compensation if the flight arrives more than 3 hours late and it's the airline's fault - for example, if they didn't get enough bookings or there was a technical fault.What is compensation delay?
Delayed Compensation means amounts payable to the Issuer as a result of, inter alia, a delay due to a technical or administrative error or delay in settlement of a Collateral Obligation.Can you claim compensation for delayed flights due to weather?
Flight delays caused by meteorological conditions (weather issues) can be eligible for flight compensation if the delay is more than 3 hours and depending on the severity of the weather problems.Why does deicing take so long?
If another plane is waiting to come into that gate, deicing a departing plane will only slow that process down. Second, deicing fluids deplete the oxygen from water, and airports don't want the fluids going into the stormwater drains. So at the deice pad, the fluids drain into a special tank or reservoir.HOW TO CLAIM COMPENSATION FOR FLIGHT DELAYS| AIRHELP
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