Hidden Manufacturing Defects – How They Affect Your Compensation for a delay flight

Some people may have heard that term ‘Hidden manufacturing defect’ be used when explaining how a flight has gone wrong. When they say this, they are often referring to a hidden fault within the construction of the plane which has just come to light and has affected the vehicle’s ability to fly safely. However, a lot of people don’t know the real truth behind what it is, and how it affects their ability to claim compensation.

The Truth Behind The Name

What a lot of people don’t know is that the term ‘hidden manufacturing defect’ is something which companies use to stand on technicalities. It all began back in 2014 when the laws changed and said that airlines had to provide compensation if the flights were delayed or cancelled due to a technical error. This meant that there was suddenly a lot more compensation being awarded. To try and avoid this, a lot of airlines have taken to calling faults and errors a ‘hidden manufacturing defect’, and presenting it as being an entirely different issue to technical problems which are quite common.

However, it is worth noting that some defects apply to an entire series of planes, and this will result in all of them needing to be grounded until such a time as the fault can be fixed and sorted. If your flight has been delayed, then a specific set of things will need to have happened. First of all, someone who is considered to be a ‘competent authority’ will have had to identify the issue as being a defect within the construction of the plane, and not just a technical glitch. Alternatively, the fault has come about as a result of maintenance, and this has forced the entire set of planes to be grounded until they can ascertain if the fault is a manufacturing defect or instead it’s a technical glitch.

So, What Does This Mean For My Compensation?

When it comes to compensation, you’ll need to try and work out what circumstances led to your flight being delayed or cancelled. Those people whose flights were cancelled due to a technical glitch can, in fact, claim compensation. However, you need to make sure that it was due to a technical glitch. A sad but fact is that a lot of companies do not want to pay compensation, and will instead put it down to a hidden manufacturing defect, and this gets them out of having to pay a penny.

Overall, compensation due to a hidden manufacturing defect is something which is difficult to claim, as it is often hard to identify what is a technical glitch and what is a fault which is familiar with all the models in that set. Knowing the difference is certainly crucial in determining if you have the potential for compensation. The term itself is little more than a way for airlines to get out paying compensation, but if you can find a way past that, then you’ll have a better chance.