As of May 1^st, 2022, Austrian law provides for a new place of jurisdiction for passenger claims in Austria based on Regulation 261/2004.

According to the new § 101a of the Austrian Act on Jurisdiction (Jurisdiktionsnorm), a passenger may choose to initiate proceedings before the court in whose jurisdiction the respective flight´s place of arrival or place of departure is located.

This new provision is applicable in cases in which Brussels I Regulation (recast) does not apply (i.e., when the air carrier is located outside the EU) and aims to provide for an equal treatment of such air carriers and those located in a member state of the EU. Until now, passengers were in many cases not able to initiate proceedings against an air carrier located outside the EU, unless the Austrian Supreme Court decided that initiating proceedings where the air carrier is located would be an unreasonable burden for the respective passenger.

Don´t hesitate to contact our Aviation Team to learn more about the places of jurisdiction for passenger claims in Austria.