On Thursday, January 23, a Saudia Arabian Airlines Boeing 787 was detained at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands due to a €50,000 debt related to passenger compensation. The action was led by EUclaim, a company representing 67 affected travelers.
Under European Union Regulation 261, passengers are entitled to monetary compensation for delays exceeding three hours on flights to or from EU airports. In 2022, EUclaim initiated legal proceedings against Saudia to secure payment of the owed amount, which also included legal costs.
Flight SV-216, scheduled to depart from Schiphol to Jeddah at 3:20 PM, was blocked during the refueling process. EUclaim managed to halt the refueling operation and even requested the seizure of the aircraft's navigation charts, preventing its departure.
According to our affiliate outlet Aeroin, after intense negotiations, Saudia Arabian Airlines opted to pay the debt, allowing the aircraft to be released, though it departed with a one-and-a-half-hour delay.
This is not an isolated case. On a previous occasion, EUclaim also prevented the refueling of a Tarom Boeing 737 at Schiphol following a court ruling. In 2024, a company similar to EUclaim delayed a Wizz Air flight at London Luton Airport to collect a refund owed to a passenger, which resulted in EU261 compensation for all passengers affected by the delay.
Similarly, Adria Airways canceled a flight to Vienna in 2019 out of fear that their aircraft would be seized over an unpaid €250 claim, ironically resulting in compensation for all passengers affected by the cancellation.
AUTOR
AEROIN es el medio líder de aviación en Brasil, y uno de los más leídos del mundo, con el que Aviacionline posee un acuerdo de intercambio editorial. https://www.aeroin.net
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