LEGAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE DISTURBANCES IN AIR TRAFFIC CAUSED BY THE COVID-19 CRISIS

In the article, the author considers special legal regime of liability of an air carrier in the circumstances of the corona pandemic. Author is focused on the air traffic’s disturbances which are, mainly, manifested in the cancellation of flight and, consequently, to the appropriate rights of passengers. The basic problem which is targeted by the author is the legal qualification of the corona crisis and, in short, deciding whether corona crisis has an attribute of force majeure. It has been derived a conclusion about corona crisis as some kind of social force majeure, especially having regard to state’s measures of limiting of movement of people across the border. In order to make passengers rights in these circumstances more certain, the European Commission enacted the official interpretation of the several regulations which are dedicated to rights of passengers. The most important right in that official interpreted act is the right to reimbursement which in a concrete sense, means to return sum which passenger previously paid for a ticket.