Belgium: with regard to the limitation period for claims under Reg. 261/2004, national law applies

After he was denied boarding on a flight from Zaventem/Belgium to Cairo on Sep 25, 2008, Adly Messiha sued TUI Airlines Belgium. The law suit was served on Jan 29, 2010, 16 months after the incident.The claimant argued that the two years limitation period of the Montreal Convention applied while the defendant argued that the limitation period was determined by Belgian Law which provides for a one-year limitation period.Following the ECJ ruling in IATA et al v. Department for Transport (C-344/04), the court ruled that because Reg. 261/2004 and the Montreal Convention constituted two distinct regulatory frameworks, Belgian law applied. The court therefore dismissed the claim (Court of Zaventem, Oct 14, 2010).

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