As a result of this ruling, they must be considered contrary to the art. 15 of Reg. 261/04 the contractual clauses, contained in the general contract conditions of airlines which prohibit the passenger from transferring his right to compensation to third-party professionals. However, the scope of the ruling is wider and it can be stated that the contractual clauses that prevent passengers from being able to turn, right form the start, to trusted professionals to request compensation are equally illegitimate.
The Court writes: ” To guarantee a high level of protection to air transport passengers and allow them to effectively exercise their rights in accordance with the objective set out in recital 20 of Regulation n. 261/2004, it is necessary to guarantee the passenger affected by the cancellation of a flight the freedom to choose the most effective way to defend his right, in particular allowing him to decide to directly the air carrier responsible for operating the flight, to appeal the competent judicial bodies or, where provided for by the relevant legislation national right, to assign your credit to a third party to avoid difficulties and costs that could dissuade you from taking action personally against that carrier in cases of little economic relevance”