|
PARALLEL TEXTS
Il vettore aereo deve prestare assistenza ai passeggeri il cui volo è stato cancellato a causa di circostanze eccezionali quali la chiusura dello spazio aereo a seguito dell’eruzione del vulcano Eyjafjallajökull
Inglese tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-13-8_en.htm
Italiano tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-13-8_it.htm
Data documento: 31-01-2013
1 |
An air carrier must provide care to passengers whose flight has been cancelled due to extraordinary circumstances such as the closure of airspace following the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano
|
Il vettore aereo deve prestare assistenza ai passeggeri il cui volo è stato cancellato a causa di circostanze eccezionali quali la chiusura dello spazio aereo a seguito dell’eruzione del vulcano Eyjafjallajökull
|
2 |
EU law does not provide for a temporal or monetary limitation on that obligation to provide care to passengers (accommodation, meals, refreshments).
|
Il diritto dell’Unione non prevede limitazioni temporali o pecuniarie a tale obbligo di prestare assistenza ai passeggeri (alloggio, pasti, bevande). |
3 |
In the event of cancellation of a flight, the air carrier is obliged, under EU law, to provide care to passengers as well as to provide compensation.
|
In caso di cancellazione del volo, il vettore aereo è tenuto – in base al diritto dell’Unione – a prestare assistenza e a pagare una compensazione pecuniaria ai passeggeri.
|
4 |
As regards the obligation to provide care, the air carrier must provide free of charge, in light of the waiting time, refreshments, meals and, where appropriate, hotel accommodation and transport between the airport and place of accommodation, as well as means of communication with third parties.
|
L’obbligo di prestare assistenza, impone poi al vettore aereo di fornire gratuitamente, tenuto conto della durata dell’attesa, bevande, pasti e, se del caso, una sistemazione in albergo, il trasporto dall’aeroporto al luogo della sistemazione, nonché la possibilità di comunicare con terzi.
|
5 |
The air carrier is obliged to fulfil that obligation even when the cancellation of the flight is caused by extraordinary circumstances, that is to say circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.
|
Il vettore è tenuto ad adempiere tale obbligo anche quando la cancellazione del volo è dovuta a circostanze eccezionali, vale a dire quelle che non si sarebbero potute evitare anche se fossero state adottate tutte le misure del caso.
|
6 |
The air carrier is, however, exempt from its obligation to provide compensation if it is able to prove that the cancellation of the flight was caused by such circumstances.
|
Il vettore può invece sottrarsi all’obbligo di compensazione pecuniaria, se dimostra che la cancellazione del volo è dovuta a tali circostanze eccezionali.
|
7 |
Following the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland, airspace over a number of Member States – including Ireland – was closed between 15 and 22 April 2010, because of the risks to aircraft.
|
A seguito dell’eruzione del vulcano islandese Eyjafjallajökull, lo spazio aereo di diversi Stati membri – incluso lo spazio irlandese – è stato chiuso, tra il 15 e il 22 aprile 2010, a causa dei rischi corsi dagli aeromobili.
|
8 |
Ms McDonagh was one of the passengers on the Faro to Dublin flight scheduled for 17 April 2010 which was cancelled following the volcanic eruption.
|
La sig.ra McDonagh era tra i passeggeri del volo Faro-Dublino, previsto per il 17 aprile 2010, ma cancellato a seguito dell’eruzione.
|
9 |
Flights between continental Europe and Ireland did not resume until 22 April 2010 and Ms McDonagh was not able to return to Dublin until 24 April 2010.
|
I voli tra l’Irlanda e l’Europa continentale sono ripresi solo il 22 aprile e la sig.ra McDonagh ha potuto fare ritorno in Irlanda solo il 24 aprile.
|
10 |
During that period, Ryanair did not provide her with any care.
|
Durante questo periodo, la Ryanair non le ha prestato alcuna assistenza.
|
11 |
Accordingly, she is of the opinion that that airline is obliged to pay her compensation of almost €1,130, corresponding to the costs of meals, refreshments, accommodation and transport incurred by her between 17 and 24 April 2010.
|
Pertanto, essa ritiene che la compagnia aerea sia tenuta a rimborsarle un importo di EUR 1130 circa, somma pari alle spese da essa sostenute tra il 17 e il 24 aprile per pasti, bevande, sistemazione in albergo e trasporti.
|
12 |
The Dublin Metropolitan District Court (Ireland), the court before which the case was brought, has asked the Court of Justice whether the closure of airspace as a result of a volcanic eruption comes under the notion of ‘extraordinary circumstances’, obliging the air carrier to provide care to passengers, or whether, on the contrary, that situation comes under circumstances which go beyond ‘extraordinary circumstances’ and exempt the air carrier from its obligation to provide care to passengers.
|
La Dublin Metropolitan District Court (Irlanda), investita della controversia, chiede alla Corte di giustizia se la chiusura dello spazio aereo dovuta ad un’eruzione vulcanica rientri nella nozione di «circostanze eccezionali», che obbligano il vettore aereo a prestare assistenza ai passeggeri, oppure se sia da ricondurre a quelle circostanze che vanno al di là delle «circostanze eccezionali» e lo esimono dall'obbligo di prestare assistenza ai passeggeri.
|
13 |
Furthermore, if the Court finds that such circumstances do come under the notion of ‘extraordinary circumstances’, it is also asked to rule on the question whether, in such a situation, the obligation to provide care must be subject to a temporal and/or a monetary limitation.
|
Inoltre, nell’ipotesi in cui la Corte riconosca che simili circostanze rientrano effettivamente nella nozione di «circostanze eccezionali», essa è invitata a anche a decidere se, in una situazione del genere, l’obbligo di prestare assistenza debba essere limitato sotto il profilo temporale e/o pecuniario.
|
14 |
The Court responds, first, that EU law does not recognise a separate category of ‘particularly extraordinary’ events, beyond ‘extraordinary circumstances’, which would lead to the air carrier being exempted from all its obligations under the regulation, including those to provide care.
|
La Corte risponde, innanzitutto, che il diritto dell'Unione non riconosce, al di là delle «circostanze eccezionali», una categoria distinta di eventi «particolarmente eccezionali» che comporti l'esonero del vettore aereo da tutti i propri obblighi derivanti dal regolamento, compreso quello di prestare assistenza.
|
15 |
If circumstances such as those at issue in the present case went beyond, due to their origin and scale, the scope of ‘extraordinary circumstances’, it would in fact mean that air carriers would be required to provide the care referred to in the regulation only to air passengers who find themselves, due to cancellation of a flight, in a situation causing limited inconvenience.
|
Infatti, se circostanze come quelle del caso di specie non rientrassero, a causa della loro origine e della loro entità, nell’ambito della nozione di «circostanze eccezionali», da ciò deriverebbe che i vettori aerei sarebbero tenuti a prestare l’assistenza prevista dal regolamento soltanto ai passeggeri che si trovano, a causa della cancellazione del loro volo, in una situazione di disagio limitato.
|
16 |
On the other hand, passengers who find themselves in a particularly vulnerable state in that they are forced to remain at an airport for several days would be denied that protection.
|
Di contro, i passeggeri che si trovino in una situazione di particolare bisogno in quanto costretti a rimanere per diversi giorni in un aeroporto, verrebbero privati di tale tutela.
|
17 |
Therefore the Court replies that circumstances such as the closure of part of European airspace as a result of a volcanic eruption such as that of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano constitute ‘extraordinary circumstances’ which do not release air carriers from their obligation to provide care.
|
Di conseguenza, la Corte dichiara che circostanze come la chiusura di una parte dello spazio europeo a seguito di un’eruzione vulcanica come quella dell’Eyjafjallajökull costituiscono «circostanze eccezionali» che non esimono i vettori aerei dal loro obbligo di prestare assistenza.
|
18 |
Next, the Court states that the regulation does not provide for any limitation, either temporal or monetary, of the obligation to provide care to passengers whose flight is cancelled due to extraordinary circumstances.
|
Inoltre, precisa la Corte, il regolamento non prevede alcuna limitazione, né di natura temporale né di natura pecuniaria, all’obbligo di prestare assistenza ai passeggeri, vittime di una cancellazione del volo per circostanze eccezionali.
|
19 |
Thus, all the obligations to provide care to passengers are imposed on the air carrier for the whole period during which the passengers concerned must await their re-routing.
|
Dunque, il complesso degli obblighi di assistenza ai passeggeri grava sul vettore aereo per tutto il periodo durante il quale i passeggeri in questione devono attendere di poter proseguire il viaggio.
|
20 |
The Court states that the provision of care to passengers is particularly important in the case of ‘extraordinary circumstances’ which persist over a long time and it is precisely in situations where the waiting period occasioned by the cancellation of a flight is particularly lengthy that it is necessary to ensure that an air passenger can have access to essential goods and services throughout that period.
|
La Corte sottolinea che l’assistenza ai passeggeri risulta particolarmente importante quando si verificano «circostanze eccezionali» che perdurano nel tempo e che è proprio nel caso in cui l’attesa dovuta alla cancellazione di un volo è particolarmente lunga che risulta necessario assicurarsi che il passeggero abbia accesso ai prodotti e ai servizi di prima necessità, per tutta la durata dell’attesa.
|
21 |
Finally, the Court points out that, while the obligation to provide care entails financial consequences for air carriers, they cannot be considered disproportionate to the aim of ensuring a high level of protection for passengers.
|
Infine, la Corte rileva che, sebbene l’obbligo di prestare assistenza comporti per i vettori aerei conseguenze economiche, queste non possono essere considerate sproporzionate rispetto allo scopo di elevata tutela dei passeggeri.
|
22 |
The importance of that objective may justify even substantial negative economic consequences for certain economic operators.
|
Infatti, l’importanza di tale scopo è tale da giustificare conseguenze economiche negative, anche considerevoli, per taluni operatori economici.
|
23 |
In addition, air carriers should, as experienced operators, foresee costs linked to the fulfilment of their obligation to provide care.
|
Peraltro, i vettori aerei dovrebbero, in quanto operatori accorti, prevedere i costi legati all’adempimento del loro obbligo di prestare assistenza.
|
24 |
Furthermore, they may pass on the costs incurred as a result of that obligation to airline ticket prices.
|
Inoltre, essi sono liberi di scaricare i costi derivanti da tale obbligo sul prezzo dei biglietti aerei.
|
25 |
Nonetheless, the Court states that when an air carrier has failed to comply with its obligation to provide care to an air passenger, that passenger may only obtain, by way of compensation, reimbursement of the amounts which proved necessary, appropriate and reasonable to make up for the shortcomings of the air carrier, a matter which is for the national court to assess.
|
Peraltro, la Corte sottolinea che, quando il vettore aereo non ha adempiuto il suo obbligo di prestare assistenza ad un passeggero, quest’ultimo può ottenere, a titolo di compensazione pecuniaria, soltanto il rimborso delle somme che risultino necessarie, appropriate e ragionevoli al fine di ovviare all’omissione del vettore aereo, il che deve essere valutato dal giudice nazionale.
|
26 |
NOTE:
|
IMPORTANTE:
|
27 |
A reference for a preliminary ruling allows the courts and tribunals of the Member States, in disputes which have been brought before them, to refer questions to the Court of Justice about the interpretation of European Union law or the validity of a European Union act.
|
Il rinvio pregiudiziale consente ai giudici degli Stati membri, nell'ambito di una controversia della quale sono investiti, di interpellare la Corte in merito all’interpretazione del diritto dell’Unione o alla validità di un atto dell’Unione.
|
28 |
The Court of Justice does not decide the dispute itself.
|
La Corte non risolve la controversia nazionale.
|
29 |
It is for the national court or tribunal to dispose of the case in accordance with the Court’s decision, which is similarly binding on other national courts or tribunals before which a similar issue is raised. |
Spetta al giudice nazionale risolvere la causa conformemente alla decisione della Corte.Tale decisione vincola egualmente gli altri giudici nazionali ai quali venga sottoposto un problema simile. |
|
LISTEN WITH READSPEAKER
An air carrier must provide care to passengers whose flight has been
cancelled due to extraordinary circumstances such as the closure of airspace
following the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano
EU law does not provide for a temporal or monetary limitation on
that obligation to provide care to passengers (accommodation, meals,
refreshments).
In the event of cancellation of a flight, the air carrier is
obliged, under EU law, to provide care to passengers as well as to provide
compensation.
As regards the obligation to provide care, the air carrier must provide
free of charge, in light of the waiting time, refreshments, meals and, where
appropriate, hotel accommodation and transport between the airport and place of
accommodation, as well as means of communication with third parties.
The air carrier is obliged to fulfil that obligation even when the
cancellation of the flight is caused by extraordinary circumstances, that is to
say circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable
measures had been taken.
The air carrier is, however, exempt from its obligation to provide
compensation if it is able to prove that the cancellation of the flight was
caused by such circumstances.
Following the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland,
airspace over a number of Member States – including Ireland – was closed between
15 and 22 April 2010, because of the risks to aircraft.
Ms McDonagh was one of the passengers on the Faro to Dublin flight
scheduled for 17 April 2010 which was cancelled following the volcanic eruption.
Flights between continental Europe and Ireland did not resume until 22
April 2010 and Ms McDonagh was not able to return to Dublin until 24 April 2010.
During that period, Ryanair did not provide her with any care.
Accordingly, she is of the opinion that that airline is obliged to pay
her compensation of almost €1,130, corresponding to the costs of meals,
refreshments, accommodation and transport incurred by her between 17 and 24
April 2010.
The Dublin Metropolitan District Court (Ireland), the court before
which the case was brought, has asked the Court of Justice whether the closure
of airspace as a result of a volcanic eruption comes under the notion of
‘extraordinary circumstances’, obliging the air carrier to provide care to
passengers, or whether, on the contrary, that situation comes under
circumstances which go beyond ‘extraordinary circumstances’ and exempt the air
carrier from its obligation to provide care to passengers.
Furthermore, if the Court finds that such circumstances do come under
the notion of ‘extraordinary circumstances’, it is also asked to rule on the
question whether, in such a situation, the obligation to provide care must be
subject to a temporal and/or a monetary limitation.
The Court responds, first, that EU law does not recognise a separate
category of ‘particularly extraordinary’ events, beyond ‘extraordinary
circumstances’, which would lead to the air carrier being exempted from all its
obligations under the regulation, including those to provide care.
If circumstances such as those at issue in the present case went
beyond, due to their origin and scale, the scope of ‘extraordinary
circumstances’, it would in fact mean that air carriers would be required to
provide the care referred to in the regulation only to air passengers who find
themselves, due to cancellation of a flight, in a situation causing limited
inconvenience.
On the other hand, passengers who find themselves in a particularly
vulnerable state in that they are forced to remain at an airport for several
days would be denied that protection.
Therefore the Court replies that circumstances such as the closure of
part of European airspace as a result of a volcanic eruption such as that of the
Eyjafjallajökull volcano constitute ‘extraordinary circumstances’ which do not
release air carriers from their obligation to provide care.
Next, the Court states that the regulation does not provide for any
limitation, either temporal or monetary, of the obligation to provide care to
passengers whose flight is cancelled due to extraordinary circumstances.
Thus, all the obligations to provide care to passengers are imposed on
the air carrier for the whole period during which the passengers concerned must
await their re-routing.
The Court states that the provision of care to passengers is
particularly important in the case of ‘extraordinary circumstances’ which
persist over a long time and it is precisely in situations where the waiting
period occasioned by the cancellation of a flight is particularly lengthy that
it is necessary to ensure that an air passenger can have access to essential
goods and services throughout that period.
Finally, the Court points out that, while the obligation to provide
care entails financial consequences for air carriers, they cannot be considered
disproportionate to the aim of ensuring a high level of protection for
passengers.
The importance of that objective may justify even substantial negative
economic consequences for certain economic operators.
In addition, air carriers should, as experienced operators, foresee
costs linked to the fulfilment of their obligation to provide care.
Furthermore, they may pass on the costs incurred as a result of that
obligation to airline ticket prices.
Nonetheless, the Court states that when an air carrier has failed to
comply with its obligation to provide care to an air passenger, that passenger
may only obtain, by way of compensation, reimbursement of the amounts which
proved necessary, appropriate and reasonable to make up for the shortcomings of
the air carrier, a matter which is for the national court to assess.
NOTE:
A reference for a preliminary ruling allows the courts and tribunals of
the Member States, in disputes which have been brought before them, to refer
questions to the Court of Justice about the interpretation of European Union law
or the validity of a European Union act.
The Court of Justice does not decide the dispute itself.
It is for the national court or tribunal to dispose of the case in
accordance with the Court’s decision, which is similarly binding on other
national courts or tribunals before which a similar issue is raised. |