Any frequent traveler knows the particular pain of a (very) delayed flight, and the only thing that could make it worse is an airline that takes forever to refund a fee or send out a voucher. However, a woman whose lawsuit against Thomas Cook Airlines resulted in a victory in Austrian court could be an empowering moment for us all. The unnamed woman, a German citizen, was booked on a Thomas Cook flight from Vienna to the Caribbean that got delayed a whopping 22 hours because of mechanical issues. Although she was promised $680 as per European Union regulations that compensate passengers based on the length of their delay, the woman got frustrated dealing with Thomas Cook's sluggishness getting her the cash. 
 
 The woman, however, was undeterred. She hired FlightRight , a claims company that fights airlines to get fees paid out (in exchange for a portion of the money), which won the suit in Austrian small claims court. A judge ruled in favor of the woman, then informed personnel at Salzburg Airport that they had the right to impound a Thomas Cook plane until the outstanding debt was cleared. Considering planes are worth tens of millions of dollars, that ruling got the airline's attention in a big way, and a rep from Condor, Thomas Cook's partner airline, promptly paid up. "We first heard of the claim on Friday, when we were notified by the airport in Salzburg," a Condor spokesperson told NBC News . "Once we heard of it, we immediately paid. We are very sorry that it took this long." A rep for FlightRight said that many airlines try to stall on paying out claims, hoping people will get fed up and not follow through. Only about 15 percent of EU residents who qualify for airline reimbursements even file for them in the first place, and we're guessing that most of them aren't as persistent as this woman. 
 
 Does this mean American domestic airlines could soon run afoul of the same public embarrassment? It's less likely, since the U.S. doesn't have the same protections for passengers as the EU. But we still love the visual of a woman towing a jumbo jet home with her behind her car or spray-painting "Property of Disgruntled Customer" on the side. ||||| Staff writers news.com.au 
 
 A PASSENGER whose flight was delayed has exacted the ultimate revenge against an airline by securing a court order to impound one of its multi-million dollar jets. 
 
 The unidentified woman from Germany had been locked in a four-year battle with Thomas Cook Airlines over a compensation payout of $US680 ($AU900) over a flight from Austria to the Caribbean that took off 22 hours late due to mechanical issues. 
 
 The woman was entitled to compensation under European Union regulations, which allows qualified passengers on late or cancelled flights to claim reimbursement depending on the distance and time of delay. 
 
 But Thomas Cook Airlines never came through with the payment, and the woman took the matter to an Austrian court. 
 
 A court order was issued over the payment, and an official told Salzburg Airport last week he was empowered to ground a Thomas Cook Airlines jet, worth tens of millions of dollars, until the airline came through with the money, NBC News reports. 
 
 Thomas Cook’s sister airline, Condor, paid the money straight away and the aircraft avoided getting impounded. 
 
 “We first heard of the claim on Friday, when we were notified by the airport in Salzburg,” Condor spokesman Johannes Winter told NBC News. 
 
 “Once we heard of it, we immediately paid. We are very sorry that it took this long.” 
 
 Jonas Swarzenski, the legal chief of compensation company FlightRight, which represented the woman, said he believed it was an innocent blunder by the airline. 
 
 “Some airlines use the tactic of blocking requests or taking so long that people give up,” he told NBC News. 
 
 “I think this was just an administrative mistake by the airline, the claim probably just got lost on somebody’s desk.” 
 
 Mr Swarzenski said only 15 per cent of travellers who were entitled to EU compensation ever actually made a claim. 
 
 According to the regulations, qualified passengers can claim financial compensation when they are denied from boarding, their flight is cancelled or their aircraft arrives more than three hours late, both within the EU and between EU and non-EU airports. ||||| Play Facebook 
 
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 Ever been frustrated by an airport delay or by an airline that won't respond to your complaint? 
 
 One passenger took it to the next level after waiting so long for compensation over a marathon mechanical delay that authorities threatened to impound the airline's jet until it paid her $680. 
 
 Officials threatened to impound the Thomas Cook Airlines plane. Sean Gallup / Getty Images, file 
 
 The German vacationer had been waiting four years for the payout after her Thomas Cook Airlines flight from Vienna, Austria, to the Caribbean took off 22 hours late. 
 
 European Union regulations entitle passengers on late or canceled flights to compensation according to a fixed tariff based on distance and the length of the delay. 
 
 However, the woman, who has not been publicly identified, never received her cash. She eventually approached a claims company who contracted a lawyer to take the matter to court in Austria. 
 
 A court order for payment was secured, and an official informed Salzburg Airport Friday that he was empowered to ground a Thomas Cook Airlines jet — worth tens of millions of dollars — until the outstanding amount was paid. 
 
 "Some airlines use the tactic of blocking requests or taking so long that people give up" 
 
 Thomas Cook's sister airline, Condor, immediately paid the money so that the aircraft did not need to be impounded and no enforcement action was needed. 
 
 "We first heard of the claim on Friday, when we were notified by the airport in Salzburg," Condor spokesman Johannes Winter told NBC News. "Once we heard of it, we immediately paid. We are very sorry that it took this long." 
 
 The woman was represented by compensation company FlightRight, which handles the paperwork in exchange for a 25 percent fee in the case of successful payouts. 
 
 "Some airlines use the tactic of blocking requests or taking so long that people give up," the firm's legal chief, Jonas Swarzenski, told NBC News. "I think this was just an administrative mistake by the airline, the claim probably just got lost on somebody's desk." 
 
 He said only 15 percent of travelers who are entitled to EU compensation ever make a claim. 
 
 The regulations also cover transatlantic flights from the U.S. to Europe operated by EU-based airlines, and return flights from Europe to the U.S. operated by any airline.
– An airline nearly had one of its jets, worth "tens of millions" of dollars, impounded Friday because it wouldn't pay a customer the $680 it owed her for a delayed flight, NBC News reports. The EU requires airlines to reimburse travelers for delays depending on their length. A German woman's flight from Austria to the Caribbean was delayed 22 hours for mechanical issues, earning her a $680 payout. But four years later, Thomas Cook Airlines still hadn't paid up. So the woman went to a claims company called FlightRight and took the airline to court. On Friday, an official armed with a court order warned Salzburg Airport that Thomas Cook was about to have one of its jets impounded, affecting flights, unless it ponied up the woman's money. The $680 was immediately paid by Condor, a Thomas Cook-affiliated airline. "We are very sorry that it took this long," a Condor spokesperson says. FlightRight says airlines will sometimes drag their feet when paying out compensation in the hopes travelers will give up, but this was probably an honest mistake. "The claim probably just got lost on somebody's desk," a FlightRight spokesperson says. The regulations behind this "ultimate revenge" exacted by the customer require that passengers be compensated when flights are three hours late or more, notes News.com.au. Protections for travelers aren't as strong in the US, so don't expect this to happen here, adds a post at Conde Nast Traveler, "but we still love the visual of a woman towing a jumbo jet home with her behind her car or spray-painting 'Property of Disgruntled Customer' on the side." (This woman sued an airline after being told to switch seats for a man.)