Based on a decision by the European Court of Justice, a Viennese lawyer is questioning Austrian Airlines for the fall that occurred on an aircraft stairway, although the passenger did not hold on to the handrails. The lawyer even thinks that flight tickets could even become an "all-risk insurance policy".

Aviation.Direct had a few weeks ago about the decision of the European Court of Justice reported in detail. In summary: A passenger fell on a passenger staircase at Vienna Airport and sustained injuries. The regional court in Korneuburg appealed to the ECJ in the second instance and it found that AUA was liable. However, the final decision on this case still lies in Korneuburg.

In the first instance, the district court of Schwechat ruled that the traveler was not entitled to any compensation. She had appealed against this judgement, so that the case was being heard before the regional court in Korneuburg. The Court of Appeal referred the matter to the European Court of Justice.

This now comes to the conclusion (C-589/20): Even if the air carrier is not to be accused of wrongdoing, it must prove that the passenger caused the damage or contributed to it, even if it was only through negligence, otherwise the air carrier is liable . Evidence that will, of course, be difficult to provide.

"The ever-increasing liability for aviation companies is gradually taking on absurd proportions," criticizes Martin Klemm, lawyer and partner at Brenner & Klemm Rechtsanwälte. "A passenger who can also be shown not to have used the handrails of the passenger bridge will fall and the airline will be asked to pay. No matter what happens, the airline is always liable. The plane ticket is increasingly becoming an all-risk insurance policy”.

The Korneuburg Regional Court now has the last word, which has to reassess the case on the basis of the ECJ's statements; the decision remains to be seen.