Judgment of the General Court (Fifth Chamber, sitting with five Judges) of 21 January 2026 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Sąd Rejonowy dla m.st. Warszawy w Warszawie – Poland) – D S.A. v P S.A.

(Case T-134/25, (1) D (Air traffic management decision))

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Air transport - Compensation to passengers in the event of a long delay or cancellation of a flight - Exemption - Extraordinary circumstances - Article 5(3) of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 - Air traffic management decision - Allocation of delayed departure slots due to adverse weather conditions - Possibility of relying on a flight subsequent to that affected by the occurrence of an extraordinary circumstance)

(C/2026/1600)

Language of the case: Polish

Referring court

Sąd Rejonowy dla m.st. Warszawy w Warszawie

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: D S.A.

Defendant: P S.A.

Operative part of the judgment

Article 5(3) of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights, and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 295/91,

must be interpreted as meaning that an air traffic management decision may constitute an ‘extraordinary circumstance’, within the meaning of that provision, irrespective of the duration of the delay entailed and the reason for it, if it is established that that decision was beyond the actual control of the air carrier concerned, in particular where it can be ruled out that that carrier contributed to that decision, which it is for the referring court to ascertain.

Article 5(3) of Regulation No 261/2004

must be interpreted as meaning that, if it is also established that that decision was beyond its actual control, an air carrier may rely, as an ‘extraordinary circumstance’ within the meaning of that provision, on an air traffic management decision that affected a previous flight that it operated using the same aircraft, provided that there is a direct causal link between the occurrence of that circumstance and the delay or cancellation of the flight that it subsequently operated, which it is for the referring court to assess, taking into account, inter alia, the conditions of operation of the aircraft in question by that carrier.

(1) OJ C, C/2025/2100, 14.4.2025.