Air Travel Delay - Compensation

[IQBAL]

My whole journey from Dubai to Edinburgh was booked with Air France directly on the airline's website which automatically gave me a connection time for the Paris-Edinburgh flight. However, I missed my onward connection to Edinburgh because passengers were made to wait on board for at least 20 minutes for the terminal bus to arrive before being allowed to disembark from the aircraft when it arrived in Paris from Dubai. I was then re-routed via London Heathrow and arrived into Edinburgh 5 hours and 15 minutes later. I have received a reply from Air France saying that due to a problem outside of their control no compensation is payable under EU Regulation 261/2004. Please advise if Air France is trying to wriggle out of this and in what form and how much compensation I should be entitled to under EU regulations. Many thanks.

[dzug]

They may be trying to wriggle out of it but you will find it very difficult to prove that the delay was not 'outside of their control' and if it was 'outside of their control' there is no compensation due.

The terminal bus, for example, is very likely to be operated by the airport, not Air France. Is its operation their responsibility? A grey area I think - maybe, maybe not. It may for example have been held up by air traffic control refusing to let it cross a taxi way. Definitely beyond their control.

You've asked the question about how much twice before and been given answers - read them.

[bednobs]

i know you want an answer but this is the third time ive seen this question today. Chris (i think) gave you and excellent and well informed answer

[Buenchico]

I'm not totally convinced that the 'beyond our control' clause applies to delays. As I read the legislation, it only applies to cancellations:

This sentence appears within Article 5, which deals with cancellations:
"An operating air carrier shall not be obliged to pay compensation in accordance with Article 7, if it can prove that the cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken."
However, I can find no such clause within the provisions of Article 6, which deals with delays. So it seems possible that airlines remain liable to pay compensation in respect of delays, even when the circumstances are beyond their control. Even so, it seems that they may have already discharged their duty. As I read the provision of Paragraph 1 of Article 8, the Air France staff at Paris should have offered you the choice between a refund of your full ticket price or being re-routed to get to Edinburgh. As you've accepted re-routing, they could argue that they're not obliged to do anything further:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ .do?uri=CELEX:32004R0261:EN:HTML

Chris