Press Release: Judgment in Case C-315/15. Marcela Pešková and Jirí Pešká v Travel Service a.s.

A collision between an aircraft and a bird is an extraordinary circumstance which may exempt the air carrier from its obligation to pay compensation in the event that a flight is delayed significantly.

However, where an authorised expert finds after the collision that the aircraft concerned is airworthy, the carrier cannot justify the delay by invoking the need to carry out a second check.