モントリオール条約

第三章　第19条 　延着

運送人は、旅客、手荷物又は貨物の航空運送における延着から生じた損害について責任を負う。
ただし、運送人は、運送人並びにその使用人及び代理人が損害を防止するために合理的に
要求されるすべての措置をとったこと又はそのような措置をとることが不可能であったことを
証明する場合には、延着から生じた損害について責任を負わない。

趣旨　延着を無過失責任とすると、無理な飛行が懸念される。

結局、この条項により、今回のキャンセルは免責になるはず。
誰がどうあがいても、飛行機を飛ばせないので。

元の法律は、
//www.tcsmith.com/pages/travel/EU 261-2004.pdf
ですが、まさに”extraordinary circumstances”に当たります。

EU Regulation 261/2004/EC

Long delay
In accordance with the EU Regulation a delay occurs when a flight is delayed
beyond its scheduled departure time by 4 hours for flights of more than 3.500 km,
by 3 hours for flights between 1.500 km and 3.500 km as well as intra-Community
flights of more than 1.500 km, and by 2 hours for flights of up to 1.500 km.
When your flight is expected to have a long delay, passengers are entitled
to receive care while waiting. This includes: meals and refreshments in
a reasonable relation to the waiting time, if necessary hotel
accommodation and the possibility of making two short telephone calls,
fax or e-mail messages. Care for passengers while waiting may be declined
if the provision of the care would itself cause further delay.

In case of delay of more than 5 hours you are entitled to a refund of
your ticket for the parts not used. Please note that in case of package travel
the provisions of the Package Travel Directive 90/314/EEC will apply.
This means that if you decide to cancel your flight you may have to pay high cancellation fees.

Cancellation
If your flight, for which you hold a valid reservation, has been cancelled,
you are also entitled to re-routing, care, refund and compensation as laid
out here above. If the flight cancellation is due to extraordinary circumstances,
you are not entitled to receive compensation. Equally, there is no right to
compensation when the passenger has been informed of the cancellation:
以下略。