EU court backs passengers’ rights when flights moved forward

BERLIN (AP) — The European Union’s top court has ruled that a flight must be considered as canceled for legal purposes if it is brought forward by more than an hour, a verdict that appears to improve customers’ chances of compensation. The European Court of Justice was asked to deliver its opinion by courts in Austria and Germany that are handling disputes involving passengers, claims management companies and five airlines. The court found Tuesday that “a flight must be regarded as having been ‘canceled’ in the case where the operating air carrier brings that flight forward by more than one hour.”