Medical emergency turnaround, halfway across Atlantic

@ayearinmx – you should probably initially ask AA to cover the hotel cost. While it’s a bit unusual as your ‘need’ for the hotel isn’t the standard basis, your insurer will probably require you to try AA first. You won’t be eligible for compensation as this is clearly ‘extraordinary circumstances’.

I suspect you will get miles and TPs for LHR-JFK-PHX, but you’ll have to wait and see. You are only entitled to LHR-PHX, though.

I hope wherever the passenger is he is well and also hope your paid your night in hotel and meal expenses promptly.

JDB wrote:

@ayearinmx – you should probably initially ask AA to cover the hotel cost. While it’s a bit unusual as your ‘need’ for the hotel isn’t the standard basis, your insurer will probably require you to try AA first. You won’t be eligible for compensation as this is clearly ‘extraordinary circumstances’.

Why would this be covered by “extraordinary circumstances”? Passenger illness is an ordinary occurrence. Is it because it is outside the control of the airline? If so, why was the regulation not drafted as such? Genuinely interested!

JDB wrote:

@Mouse – passenger illness that causes an aircraft to divert is not an ordinary occurrence any more than say a bird strike. They both happen but are sufficiently rare to take them outside the test of being an inherent part of the carrier’s activity and operations. There’s a controversial lightning strike decision that wasn’t ‘extraordinary circumstances’ but only in a lower court. Crew illness is a different issue.

The statute, like most civil law is not too prescriptive because the draftsman and/or legislature can’t anticipate every eventuality. Each case has to be decided on its own merits/facts and on the balance of probabilities.

Passenger illness inflight is clearly usually, but not always, outside the airline’s control with no reasonable measures they could take to avoid it which reinforces it being ‘extraordinary circumstances’.

Interesting, thank-you @JDB