Has force majeure ceased to be a cause of exoneration for airlines?

Abstract

In April 2024, the court issued a ruling against Vueling, which was ordered to compensate passengers on a canceled flight despite the court finding force majeure. This ruling could imply a significant change in the traditional framework for civil liability in Spain. This paper analyzes whether force majeure continues to exonerate airlines or, on the contrary, a system of pure strict liability operates in air passenger transport, alien to the Spanish legal system. To address this issue, we first examine the elements that shape civil liability in air navigation; second, we examine the rules governing force majeure in Spain, both generally and in the specific field of air transport, with particular attention to EU and international regulations; third, we study the most recent court rulings; and, finally, we offer an answer to the question at the heart of this paper.