A recent case involving the budget airline, Ryanair, has been widely reported in the press.
It is a fundamental and longstanding principle of English contract law that a person who is claiming breach of contract has six years from the date of the breach to bring a legal claim under the contract.
Despite this, Ryanair added a clause in its small print reducing this six year limit to only two years. In the case, Ryanair argued that as their customers had signed their terms and conditions, the claimants had only two years to make a claim for flight delays and argued that the longer period was 'unnecessary and unreasonable'.
Manchester County Court held that Ryanair could not use its small print to change the time limit in this way.
Some have suggested that Ryanair could face claims for flight delays running into millions of pounds although Ryanair's estimates are much lower. Unsurprisingly Ryanair are considering appealing the decision.
If you have experienced flight delays and want to know whether you have a claim for compensation, contact us.