First Belgian class action targets Thomas Cook

Belgium is about to get its first US-style class action for compensation, as consumer group Test-Achats squares up to travel company Thomas Cook. Press reports expect the groundbreaking case to be placed before the Court of the First Instance in Brussels today.

The challenge concerns a Thomas Cook flight from Tenerife to Bruxelles on March 23 which could not take off following a collision with another plane on the runway. Passengers had to wait eight hours before a replacement plane was able to take them off the island.

Usually any delay above three hours would mean passengers could claim €400 each in compensation. However Thomas Cook has declined to pay, arguing that this incident was not a normal delay.

The right to bring class actions was only introduced into Belgian law last year, and then with strict controls to prevent the abuses seen in the USA. Only consumer groups or insurance companies can initiate cases, and there are incentives to negotiate settlements.

Reporting the story, La Libre Belgique recalls that Test-Achats is also working on a case against Belgian rail company SNCB, representing commuters claiming compensation for strike delays.