Passengers of delayed flights do not necessarily have to go to court to assert their claims against airlines that are unwilling to pay. If EU countries have commissioned national authorities, they can also demand the payments.
National authorities can oblige airlines to pay passengers compensation in the event of long delays. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg ruled that a separate court order is not necessary.
The background is a case from Hungary. After their flight from New York to Budapest was delayed more than three hours, passengers turned to the Hungarian authority that enforces air passenger rights. This instructed the airline to pay each affected passenger 600 euros in compensation. The airline resisted, arguing that it could only be compelled to do so by national courts.
The ECJ did not follow this. If the EU state has authorized the authority - such as the national consumer protection authority - to do so, it could certainly oblige the airline to pay. The only decisive factor is that both the passengers and the airlines can take legal action against the decision of the authority. The ECJ justified its decision with the fact that the purpose of the flat-rate compensation is to avoid the inconvenience of a claim for damages.
