The recent suspension of Comair due to safety issues identified by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) has, no doubt, caused major reputational damage for both the British Airways and Kulula brands.
Their media statements have asked affected passengers to monitor the airlines’ social media pages for further updates on the issue, and there still appears to be a degree of uncertainty as to whether the cost of the cancelled tickets will be refunded to the affected passengers.
Notwithstanding the possible refund, there may be circumstances where some passengers have suffered damages as a result of the flight cancellation, as additional costs had to be incurred to make alternative travel arrangements.
Additionally, damages may also have been suffered where the cancellation of the flight has led to other monetary losses incurred by a passenger. That passenger’s failure to be able to attend to a matter in terms of which the individual would have generated an income is but one example of a possible damages claim.
Generally damages claims need to be assessed on a case-by- case basis as the facts pertaining to each individual case will have an impact on the viability and quantum of such a possible claim.
