Gol airlines sentenced to compensate passengers for 2 days’ flight delay

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – According to the decision, passengers would travel from Porto Seguro to Goiânia, but had their flight diverted to Brasilia. They proved spending.

The Court of Goias sentenced Gol Airlines to pay compensation to 2 passengers for unjustified delay, amounting to R$8000 (US$1,500) each. They were returning from Porto Seguro (BA) to Goiânia (GO), but only reached their destination almost 2 days after the scheduled date.

Judge Laura Ribeiro de Oliveira, assistant in the 2nd Special Civil Court of Aparecida de Goiania, in the metropolitan region, considered in her ruling the passengers’ expenses with accommodation and transportation because of the delay.

The delay occurred on November 11th, 2018, the day for which the return trip from Porto Seguro to Goiânia was scheduled. However, the flight was canceled due to bad weather, as alleged by the airline.

Different destination

The airline boarded the passengers on a flight to a different city than had been planned, according to the ruling. They bought a ticket to Goiânia. However, they landed in Brasilia and subsequently borne the transportation costs for the return trip to the capital of Goiania, where they continued to Aparecida de Goiania.

Therefore, the passengers complained in court that they had to bear several expenses because of the delay, such as hotel and food expenses. Moreover, they proved lack of medical care for one of them and that they could only board in the early morning of November 13th.

According to the case file, Gol alleged to the Court that the passengers were re-accommodated on a flight to Brasilia. The company also challenged the passengers’ complaint, saying there was no evidence that the flight had been detoured nor that it was informed about any health issues concerning one of them.

Disruption and damages

However, the ruling considered that the passengers suffered several inconveniences and damages, as evidenced by attorney Flávia Aragão Martins de Melo. The compensation amounts should be adjusted from the date the company received notice from the Court about the lawsuit.

In the ruling, the magistrate also pointed out that the canceled flight caused an unjustified delay of approximately 2 days from the expected arrival date.

The judge also understood that Gol failed to submit documents proving that the cancellation and delay of the flight resulted from unforeseeable circumstances or force majeure. According to her, the company failed to prove the weather condition at the time of that flight.

Nuisance

According to the decision, the unjustified wait of approximately 2 days is sufficient to cause annoyance, inconvenience and suffering out of proportion to the hardships of everyday life.

Moreover, the magistrate considered that the consumer, when buying an airline ticket with a scheduled time, plans their trip according to the time of arrival. The decision may be appealed.

Source: Metropoles