If neither the departure airport nor the destination airport is within the territory of the European Union, the Air Passenger Rights Regulation does not apply, according to the ECJ in its decision today. A passenger booked a flight from Chişinău (Moldova) via Vienna to Bangkok (Thailand). Due to a technical defect, the first leg of the flight had to be cancelled at short notice. The airline concerned then immediately rebooked the passenger on a connection via Istanbul. Despite all the airline's efforts, however, the arrival was delayed by two hours and 27 minutes despite the immediate replacement transport. If a flight is cancelled less than seven days before the scheduled departure time, the airline is generally obliged to pay compensation within the scope of the Air Passenger Rights Regulation unless it enables the passenger to reach their final destination no more than two hours after the scheduled arrival time by rebooking on replacement transport. However, the regulation only applies to passengers who either (i) start their flight at an airport in the European Union or (ii) are transported by an EU airline and the destination airport is in the EU. The situation with stopovers has been the subject of heated debate in the past, particularly because airlines from third countries often enjoy a competitive advantage here, as they are usually not obliged to compensate passengers in the event of cancellations or delays. With today's decision, however, the European Court of Justice has stated that the Air Passenger Rights Regulation does not apply to uniformly booked flights where neither the (first) departure airport nor the destination airport is in the European Union. Compensation for such flights is therefore ruled out due to the lack of applicability of the regulation.