When the EU law says you are due 600€ for missing a flight, that also means you are due only 600€ for missing a flight, no matter what. Doesn’t matter if you missed out on the job of a lifetime, or if you weren’t present for your father’s last breath. It’s so disingenuous how they craft a narrative of citizens/consumers first, but in end effect, the only ones who have the ear of von der Leyen and the rest of the EC are the lobbyists. Metsola is the head of the EP and she’s the biggest corporate stooge to ever walk this planet.
The crux of the matter is that these “consumer protect laws” often release the party with the most leverage from liability i.e. they protect the party with the most leverage from ever being held accountable for doing something really damaging to the other party. And their justification for this, is giving you a pittance as compensation.
How you do it is by simply retaining liability for damages caused, i.e. by not trying to short circuit the justice system.
Do you know what happens when the airline does not follow even the laws that are there on the books in their favour? In that case you are first advised to seek justice from a private arbitration court, i.e. they are again trying to avoid the actual legal system. Seems like a pattern.