A passenger arrived 3 hours and 27 minutes late on a flight from Paris to Copenhagen.
The Copenhagen City Court did not exempt the air carrier from liability under Article 5(3). However, it accepted the carrier’s subsidiary argument that compensation must be reduced by 50% because the delay was less than four hours.
As a result, the passenger was awarded EUR 125 instead of EUR 250.
In Sturgeon (Joined Cases C-402/07 and C-432/07), the EU Court of Justice established that passengers suffering arrival delays of three hours or more are, in principle, entitled to the same compensation as in cancellation cases.
However, in Nelson (Joined Cases C-581/10 and C-629/10), the Court clarified that Article 7(2) also applies in long-delay cases. This means that compensation may be reduced by 50% where the arrival delay does not exceed four hours.
Importantly, Nelson confirmed that the reduction mechanism applies irrespective of the distance band. The decisive factor is the duration of the delay – not whether the flight is short, medium, or long-haul.
iuno's opinion
This Danish judgment confirms that national courts continue to apply Nelson consistently in practice:
- Where the arrival delay is between three and four hours, compensation must be reduced by 50%
- The rule applies across all distance categories, including short-haul flights
- The reduction argument should always be advanced as a subsidiary position in litigation
From a financial exposure perspective, systematic reliance on Article 7(2) remains a key mitigation tool in Danish EU261 claims handling.
If you want to discuss how to operationalise this argument in ongoing or future cases, our Aviation team is ready to help.
[Copenhagen City Court, judgment of 18 February 2026, case no. BS-3227/2023-KBH]