Court awards passengers £310 after bird strike results in flight delay

More than 70% of bird strikes have occurred at an altitude below 500 feet and it only takes about a minute for a commercial airline to get above 3,500 feet and out of that danger zone. And it's a good thing, because the toll a bird strike can take on a plane can be severe.

According to the FAA's Wildlife Strike database, bird strikes have been responsible for the destruction of 243 aircraft and 255 human deaths since 1988. In 2013, there were 11,315 strikes – the most ever.

Delays caused by stricken planes have regularly left passengers in the lurch in terms of compensation. Airlines claim that they're exempt from liability because those incidents are one of the "extraordinary circumstances" stipulated in EU Regulation 261/2004, just like volcano eruptions, terrorism and crew illness. Looking at the unpredictable nature of a bird strike, the airlines might have a point, but considering the number of times it happens, it's anything but extraordinary.

A judge in Manchester County (U.K.) Court agrees with the latter argument and has ordered Thomas Cook to pay five passengers around £310 ($478) each as compensation for a five-hour delay caused by a bird strike. The definition of "extraordinary" was at the heart of the matter. In his ruling, the judge said

Bird strikes happen every day, in fact many times a day. They do not fall within the same category as a motorway collision between a car and a horse, which would be extraordinary, for the simple reason that our skies are populated with birds, whereas our roads are not populated with horses.

Thomas Cook remains unconvinced, a view undoubtedly shared by other airlines. They don't want to see another compensation can of worms opened. But the fact that the decision was not legally binding in other U.K. courts gives other airlines a reason to fight on.

At the very least, passengers should be happy to know that both engines and windscreens are tested against bird strikes (although the majority of birds hit the wings) but an ability to withstand a strike doesn't make it easier to clean up.