Broberg, Morten --- "Unexpected Turbulence: On the Application of the Denied Boarding Regulation to Exceptional Situations" [2011] ELECD 921; in Alemanno, Alberto (ed), "Governing Disasters" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011)

Book Title: Governing Disasters

Editor(s): Alemanno, Alberto

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9780857935724

Section: Chapter 13

Section Title: Unexpected Turbulence: On the Application of the Denied Boarding Regulation to Exceptional Situations

Author(s): Broberg, Morten

Number of pages: 11

Extract:

13. Unexpected turbulence:
on the application of the Denied
Boarding Regulation to exceptional
situations
Morten Broberg

13.1 WHEN REALITY EXCEEDS IMAGINATION
On 20 March 2010 the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull began to erupt.
The first eruption was followed by a second on 14 April 2010. Due to
favourable winds, ash from the new eruption began to spread across Europe
and, as there was fear that the volcanic ash could pose a danger to air
traffic, the authorities on 15 April 2010 began to close down European
airspace. The ash cloud spread over great parts of Europe and so did the
closure of airspace. The flight ban was only lifted several days later
(Eurocontrol, 2010).
In particular European air carriers were severely affected by the ban.
Thus, according to the Financial Times (2010) the no-fly zone, which had
been imposed over much of Europe, was threatening the livelihood of a
number of carriers. The air carriers lost money due to much reduced
revenue following the grounding of their planes and as a consequence of
significant costs flowing from their obligations vis-à-vis the stranded pas-
sengers (BBC 2010a; European Commission, 2010, paras 2, 7 and 13ff) ­
not least obligations imposed by Regulation 261/2004,1 or the Denied
Boarding Regulation as it is generally known. This Regulation lays down
passengers' minimum rights where they are denied boarding or where a
flight is cancelled or delayed.2
When drafting the Denied Boarding Regulation the drafters unambigu-
ously had the Regulation ...