The Civil Aviation Authority has corrected a statement about whether airlines should reconsider compensation claims, based on the outcome of a Court of Appeal ruling in the Jet2 vs Huzar case last week.
The ruling stated that Jet2, and by extension other airlines, were liable to compensate passengers after lengthy technical delays.
The CAA had previously sent out advice after the verdict saying that the ruling was unlikely to affect claims that airlines had rejected prior to the landmark case.
The CAA has since stated that its initial advice was not clear, and has issued new advice, including that new compensation claims must be re-assessed by airlines in light of the judgement. The CAA also stressed there may be further developments on the issue as Jet2 intends to seek permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.
In a statement, the CAA said: "Airlines might delay processing claims until the outcome is known. Passengers therefore have a choice: either to ask and wait for their airline to reconsider their claim in the light of the judgement, or to take their claim to court."
The industry is expecting a sharp rise in delay compensation claims since the ruling last week.