Aer Lingus compensation Kurzfristiger Gatewechsel, Flug verpasst

Question

The following has happened: 

We verifiably passed the security check at 9:10 am at Hamburg Airport for a fly to Dublin with Aer Lingus, Leaving 10:35

After passing the security check, we informed ourselves on an information board at which gate the boarding will take place. Gate B52 was indicated on the information board, at which we arrived after passing another separate passport control at 09: 30h and waited for the boarding. It should be noted that after passing through the passport control no further information boards exist, which would have informed the passengers about a possible gate change. It is a small separate area in the airport, where only about 8 gates are served. 

Next to Gate 52, a Turkish Airways aircraft was dispatched at Gate 53, which flew to Istanbul. As a result, the entire waiting area was crowded with people and there was hardly any separation between Gate 52 and 53. 

After Turkish Airlines called for boarding, a large number of people stood up for approx. 20-30min. Since the space would not have been sufficient to board another machine, we had to assume that our flight would be delayed a bit. After all passengers had boarded the Turkish Airline, our boarding still did not start, so we turned to an employee of the airport. This informed us that apparently the gate of the boarding changed at short notice. 

We went to all gates in our area and found the gate where the boarding should take place (about 100m away) There we saw the machine and met a single employee of the company “Global”, which apparently acted on behalf of Aer Lingus and should do the check in all alone – one lady for the hole plane. Although the machine was still at the gate, the employee told us that she does not let us into the machine anymore. We could look for another flight. When we told her that nobody had informed us about a change of gate, she said that this is not her problem, that she is not  obliged to inform us about a change of gate. The lady was extremely rude. All information can be confirmed in terms of time and content by Hamburg Airport.

 

As there is no information boards in the waiting area B52 and nearer by, which pointed to a change the gate and also the staff you instructed neglected to inform us about it (eg call out our names,  walk 100m to the other gate to look for us), we are not responsible for missing the flight.

Do we have the right to get back our Money?

Answer 1

Hello Bailey,
You might have the right to get back your money depending on some specific detailles, I’ll try to clarify the legal situation for you to the best of my knowledge
(1)    Organizational fault of the airport
Typically, missed flight claims are made against the operating airline. Claims that do not arise due to flight cancellation, delay or denied boarding are not quite the specialty of this platform as they can not be enforced based on the EU-regulation 261/2004. In fact, passengers who miss their flights for reasons other than cancellation, delay or denied boarding often remain at the expense. However, airport operators are obligated to ensure that all the processes at the airport run smoothly and passengers won’t miss their flight due to any problems in the organization. AG Erding ruled in a similar case in favor of the plaintiffs, where passengers missed their flight due to the long line and mismanagement at the safety check of the airport. The court ordered the airport operators to reimburse a large part of the cost of the replacement flight (AG Erding, Urt. v. 23.08.2016, Az: 8 C 1143/16). I would strongly suspect that announcements about gate changes are also part of the organizational obligations of the airport operators. If none of these have occurred, the operator has violated his obligation and you could be entitled to compensation for the missed flight. However, you could also be found to be partly at fault, because you could not simply trust that the flight will be delayed if boarding at the first gate has not yet started.
(2)    Denied boarding
Another conceivable possibility is that Aer Lingus can be made liable due to denied boarding within the meaning of article 2 letter j) of Regulation 261/2004. Denied boarding is defined by the Regulation as “a refusal to carry passengers on a flight, although they have presented themselves for boarding under the conditions laid down in Article 3(2), except where there are reasonable grounds to deny them boarding, such as reasons of health, safety or security, or inadequate travel documentation;”. Well, maybe you arrived a little late at the gate, according to your description the plane hasn’t departed from the gate yet. LG Frankfurt ruled on a similar case that passengers should be allowed to board as long as it is technically still feasible to board the aircraft (i.e. the plane is still at the gate and the door is not locked). In the case mentioned the plaintiffs arrived at the gate three minutes before the last bus left for the aircraft und could therefore have been taken despite the minor delay (LG Frankfurt, Urt. v. 15.07.2010, Az: 2-24 S 10/10). The airlines' requirements regarding check-in and boarding times are too strict, courts also judge in favor of passengers who appear with very little delay to check-in or boarding (AG Bremen, Urt. v. 26.07.2012, Az: 9 C 91/12). If Aer Lingus cannot prove that the entry was no longer technically possible, you could be entitled to a compensation payment of EUR 250 per person and reimbursement of the costs for the replacement flight.
It is difficult to enforce a claim against a German authority and Aer Lingus will conceivably reject any claim as well. I would strongly advise you to contact an attorney specializing in international flight rights and German travel law.