Airlines are liable for a hot drink accidentally spilled and hurting a passenger, the European Union’s top court said in a dispute involving a carrier founded by the late-Formula One motor-racing champion Niki Lauda.
“An airline is liable for the harm caused by a spilled cup of hot coffee,” the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg ruled on Thursday. The decision can’t be appealed.
A six-year-old girl who was on a flight with her dad from Mallorca, Spain to Vienna, Austria, was burned when her dad’s coffee cup accidentally tumbled onto her.
The airline, Niki Luftfahrt GmbH, rejected their subsequent claim for compensation, saying no particular event had caused the cup to fall over.
An Austrian court handling the dispute between the family and the administrators for the airline referred the case to the bloc’s top court for guidance on EU law.
The case is: C‑532/18, Niki Luftfahrt.
Topics Legislation Europe Aviation
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