Stephenson Harwood aviators at La Pedrera
On Friday, 8 November 2024, Chloe Challinor and Patrick Bettle of the Aviation Litigation and Regulation team attended the annual conference of the European Air Law Association ("EALA") held in the basement garage of Antoni Gaudi's masterpiece, La Pedrera, in Barcelona.
As a panellist, Chloe participated in an interesting discussion covering important developments in aviation safety in the 80 years following the Chicago Convention 1944, which is the blueprint for the commercial aviation industry. Chloe was joined on the panel by high profile speakers including Boeing's executive liaison to the International Civil Aviation Organization and a retired member of the NASA Advisory Board for Safety Activities.
Patrick presented his paper that was awarded the 2024 EALA prize and that he had written while he was studying for an Advanced Masters in Air and Space Law at Leiden University. The paper examined the effectiveness of contractual measures taken by airlines to control the ability of "claims management companies" to bring flight delay compensation claims and will be published in the Aviation & Space Journal.
The annual EALA conference is an important date in the aviation legal calendar. It provides a useful opportunity for private practice lawyers and in-house counsel at airlines, manufacturers and national regulators from across Europe to network and to share valuable know-how arising from recent developments in the aviation world.
