by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 6:10 PM ET, Fri January 12, 2024
What exactly is an adequate amount of compensation for the trauma of being a passenger on a flight that includes a plane door blowing off as the flight takes to the skies?
The answer Alaska Airlines has come up with is $1,500 plus a refund of your original ticket fare.
That’s the compensation being offered passengers who were aboard Alaska Flight 1282, which departed from Portland, Oregon last Friday and at about 16,000 feet into its ascent, had a door plug burst from the port side of the plane.
There were 171 passengers on the plane at the time of the incident, which involved the cabin being depressurized, passengers’ belongings flying out through the opening, oxygen masks dropping from the plane’s ceiling, and even a young boy’s shirt being ripped off his body.
The plane’s pilots quickly called for an emergency landing and no injuries
were reported.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Alaska Airlines subsequently reached out to passengers via email to offer them the $1,500 compensation package.
The CEO of AirHelp, a company that assists passengers with claiming compensation after experiencing challenges on trips, suggests the airline is not required to provide any compensation under U.S. law.
“Currently in the U.S., airlines are not legally required to compensate passengers when flights are delayed or canceled, even if the delay is the fault of the airline or airport,” Tomasz Pawliszyn told TravelPulse.
Compensation is only required under U.S. law if passengers are denied boarding on an oversold flight, Pawliszyn added.
In that case, the limit of the compensation is $1,550 for a passenger experiencing delays in arrival over two hours for domestic flights and over four hours for international flights. For any delays less than two hours, the limit for compensation is $775.
“In other parts of the world, such as the European Union and the UK, air passengers in this situation would be protected by legislation that offers clear and meaningful rights for customers experiencing delays, cancelations, or unexpected changes to their travel plans,” continues Pawliszyn.
The main law governing European air passenger compensation is EC 261, which states that if a flight is canceled or delayed, passengers have the right to compensation or a refund, and the airline is required to process these claims promptly.
EC 261 also says that airlines do not have to pay compensation if the disruption was caused by “extraordinary circumstances” which are events outside of their control, explained Pawliszyn.
“For example, you will not be eligible for compensation if your delay was a result of a strike, political unrest, inclement weather, or security risks,” Pawliszyn.
Though to be fair, what happened in the case of the Alaska Airlines flight was far more than simply a “delay” or “cancellation.” It was by all accounts a traumatic event and in such cases, what the law requires may not be adequate.
"Compensation can be an important and impactful way airlines can make up for a bad experience to customers, particularly after a catastrophe such as this," added Pawliszyn
Moreover, at least one legal expert thinks lawsuits are warranted. Daniel Laurence, partner at the Seattle based Stritmatter Firm, told the New York Post that passengers aboard flight 1282 would be justified in seeking legal action for “emotional distress.”
“As a moral matter, $1,500 per passenger, for what could have been a death experience and might even be described… as a near death experience, is inadequate,” Laurence told the New York Post. “They clearly would have a claim for emotional distress that was inflicted upon them.”
Laurence told the publication that he would not be surprised if lawsuits started being filed by passengers immediately.
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