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OGH: Airline exceeded its powers in the course of reviewing official documents.
The British low-cost airline refused an Iraqi citizen a flight from Vienna to London due to an alleged lack of a visa. An existing valid residence card that would have entitled entry without a visa was not accepted by EasyJet. Because the company assumed that the person concerned did not actually meet the requirements for the residence card – issued by the authorities. The refusal of carriage was inadmissible, the Supreme Court (OGH) has now ruled in a procedure conducted by the Association for Consumer Information (VKI).
As a result, the carrier has to reimburse the costs for the expired flight tickets and make compensation payments – twice over: to the person concerned and his wife who is traveling with him. The wife could have claimed her ticket, but the husband's refusal to board was ultimately equivalent to his wife's refusal to board, the court said.
“Easyjet has assumed the authority here to question whether the residence card was lawfully issued by the Austrian authorities. The verification of such a document must be limited to the authenticity and correctness of the information contained therein. With this residence card, Easyjet had no concrete indications of abuse of rights or fraud," commented VKI lawyer Verena Grubner on the verdict.
Easyjet accepts the verdict
"Easyjet, like all other airlines, is required by the relevant authorities to ensure that all passengers are able to present the correct, valid travel documents to ensure the safety of all passengers and crew," an airline spokesman told Aviation.Direct. "We regret that the passenger concerned was wrongly denied boarding on his flight to London and will reimburse him for the additional costs incurred as a result, in accordance with the Court's ruling."
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