Virgin Atlantic pays £47,000 compensation to passengers who set up Facebook group to complain about 26-HOUR flight delay

Virgin Atlantic has been forced to pay €60,000 (£47,600) compensation to a group of 101 air passengers who were delayed for over 26 hours on a flight from America to the UK.

Sir Richard Branson's airline made the payout following last month’s Huzar ruling at the Court of Appeal, which stated that airlines cannot reject claims for delays caused by technical defects.

The holidaymakers were delayed when flight VS16 - travelling from Orlando, Florida to London Gatwick in October 2012 - developed a fault.

Grounded: Holidaymakers were delayed on a flight from Florida to London in 2012 after the aircraft's fire detector circuit developed a fault (stock image)

Lengthy delay: The passengers said they were due to board their flight at 7.35pm on 27 October but had to wait until the next day to depart

The disgruntled passengers set up a Facebook page to publicise their ordeal, which was caused by a fault with the aircraft's fire detector circuit.

They were due to board the aircraft at 6.40pm but had to wait until 9.20pm to take their seats.

At 10.15pm the captain informed the passengers that the problem had still not been fixed and that they would have to disembark the aircraft.

The holidaymakers were given a hotel room near the terminal for the night but claimed that they had to join a lengthy queue to check in and did not get their room keys until around 2am.

They also said that they could not use the food vouchers they had been issued as there wasn’t enough food available at the hotel, or enough staff to serve them.

Urgent repair work: Flight VS16 developed a fault with its fire detector circuit

The passengers were give a hotel room for the night but said they had to join a lengthy queue to check in

The group was picked up from their hotel the following day at 1.30pm and taken to the airport where they checked in at 2.30pm.

They were eventually allowed to board the aircraft at 8.15pm and departed at 9.35pm, landing at Gatwick airport at 9.49am, more than 26 hours later than scheduled.

After contacting the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) the group was told that they had a valid claim for compensation under EU Regulation 261 but was later told that their flight did not qualify for this compensation.

Long queues at the hotel meant that many holidaymakers didn't get their room key until 2am

The passengers then contacted specialist flight delay law firm Bott & Co in November 2013, who issued group proceedings.

The cases was initially delayed pending the outcome of the Huzar v Jet2.com case in which air passenger Ron Huzar, 58, took airline Jet2 to court to claim compensation for a delayed flight from Manchester to Malaga in 2011.

Mr Huzar's flight was delayed by 27 hours because of a wiring defect.

Jet2 had claimed that under EU laws this defect constituted 'extraordinary circumstances' that allows them to deny claims.

However, Court of Appeal judges ruled that such technical faults are 'inherent in the running of an airline' and as such cannot be considered extraordinary.

Virgin Atlantic was forced to pay €600 (£476) compensation to each passenger on the delayed VS16 flight following the ruling.

Kevin Clarke, Aviation Lawyer at Bott & Co, said: ‘We are delighted to have been able to reach a settlement for these passengers. 

‘Since winning the case for our client Mr Huzar, we have seen a general trend towards airlines settling claims that have been on hold for months. 

'This is great news for consumers and we hope this signals the dawn of a new era of a much easier and smoother process for claiming flight delay compensation.’

A spokesperson for Virgin Atlantic told MailOnline Travel: 'As a gesture of goodwill Virgin Atlantic has settled some existing court cases that were previously stayed pending the Court of Appeal decision in Huzar.

'Going forward, the lasting impact of the Huzar decision on new cases remains uncertain and we are continuing to monitor developments in this area closely.'

Standing room only: The queue to check in to the hotel snaked out onto the driveway

Campaign: The disgruntled passengers set up a Facebook group to publicise their ordeal

The CAA said that passengers can ask airlines to review their compensation claims in the wake of the Court of Appeal ruling.

Rules state that passengers who reach their destination more than three hours late can claim up to €600 (£494) plus expenses, per person, if the delay is within the airline's control.

The case could open the door to hundreds of thousands of claims that have previously been turned down by airlines.

However, Jet2 has already announced its intention to appeal again against the decision, this time by taking it to the Supreme Court, and the CAA has warned that airlines might delay processing claims until the outcome of that case.

The CAA initially caused consternation among passenger representatives on Friday when they said that rejected claims could not be retrospectively reviewed in the wake of the Huzar case.

However, after checking the law again, it changed its stance.

A spokesman said: 'The CAA apologises that our earlier advice was not clear. We will contact passengers who have previously sought our help to provide advice on the matter. The CAA will also provide guidance on the judgment to airlines.'

DM