46. That compensation was described by the Court in its judgment of 29 July 2019, Rusu, as being
fixed, standardised and immediate. (3 0)
In the words of the Court in Irish Ferries, it is a ‘pecuniary
claim … and [the] passenger may request payment of that claim from the carrier on the sole ground that the conditions laid down in [Article 19 of Regulation No 1177/2010] are satisfied’. (31) If the cancellation of the flight is not caused by extraordinary circumstances within the meaning of Article 5(3) of Regulation No 261/2004, the amount of compensation is fixed in accordance with the scales set out in Article 7(1) and (2) of that regulation. Air passengers will receive compensation in the amount of EUR 250 for all flights of 1 500 km or less (point (a)), EUR 400 for intra-Community flights of more than 1 500 km and for all other flights between 1 500 and 3 500 km (point (b)) and, lastly, EUR 600 for all flights not covered by the preceding points. In addition, the compensation will be reduced by half, subject to certain conditions, if the passenger has been re-routed. The Court has held that ‘such fixed amounts are intended to provide compensation only for the damage that is almost
identical for every passenger concerned’. (3 2)
Accordingly, both passengers and air carriers can
identify the amount of compensation due, since that amount is not assessed on a case-by-case basis in the light of the individual circumstances of each passenger, but depends solely on the distance and
destination of the flight concerned. (3 3)
In those circumstances, except where the right to
compensation is disputed under Article 5(3) of Regulation No 261/2004 and requires legal assessments as to the existence, for example, of ‘extraordinary circumstances’, the national body seems to me to be quite capable of assessing the merits of the claim and, where appropriate, the amount thereof for the purposes of taking enforcement action.
47. Furthermore, such an allocation of powers seems to me to contribute to the objectives pursued by the EU legislature in the context of Regulation No 261/2004. In accordance with recitals 1, 2, 4 and 12 of that regulation, the regulation seeks to ensure a high level of protection for air passengers whose flight cancellation has caused them serious trouble and inconvenience. (34) The Court has repeatedly held that the amounts set by Article 7(1) of Regulation No 261/2004 are intended to compensate, in a standardised and immediate manner, for the damage that is constituted by such inconvenience, ‘without the passengers having to suffer the inconvenience inherent in the bringing of actions for damages
before the courts having jurisdiction.’ (3 5)
In Irish Ferries, the Court added that the compensation
worded in identical terms in Article 19 of Regulation No 1177/2010 is ‘in [itself] capable of remedying immediately some of the inconvenience suffered by passengers in the event of cancellation of a service and thus [makes] it possible to ensure a high level of protection for passengers, sought by that regulation’. (36)