Perfection of Liability System of Chinese Flight Delay: From the Perspective of EC No.261/2004 Regulation

Due to the imperfection of the current liability system of Chinese flight delay, there arouse frequent flight delay disputes. The improvement of this system will be beneficial to all parties. According to the "general reasonable period theory", the definition of "flight delay" in civil law can effectively guide air transport practice and judicial judgment. Carrier's obligation to care and help in EC No.261/2004 is a reasonable accompanying obligation, which can be used as reference to the legal system of flight delay in China. The European Court of Justice has ruled that the carrier compensates passengers for the time lost due to flight delays in order to better protect passengers who are on the weaker side. In China, the promulgation of the Civil Code clears the legal barriers for passengers to obtain time loss compensation, which should be stipulated in the Civil Aviation Law.