Airlines routinely answer strike claims with one line: “industrial action is an extraordinary circumstance”. The regulation does mention strikes in recital 14, but the Court of Justice has narrowed that a great deal. The question that decides your claim is who was on strike.
Who was on strike
| Who went on strike | Compensation under EU and UK rules | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The airline’s pilots or cabin crew, union-called | Due | Part of the normal running of an airline and within its control (CJEU, Airhelp v SAS, C-28/20) |
| The airline’s staff, spontaneous “wildcat” action | Due | Followed from the airline’s own decisions (CJEU, Krüsemann, C-195/17) |
| Staff of a subsidiary striking in solidarity with the parent airline’s staff | Due | A foreseeable part of labour relations in an airline group (CJEU, Eurowings, C-613/20) |
| Air traffic controllers | Usually not due | External to the airline and beyond its control |
| Airport staff, security screeners, border police | Usually not due | Same reason |
| Staff on strike over demands only the government can meet | Usually not due | Not within the airline’s power to settle (C-28/20) |
Good to know
“Usually” matters. Even with an external strike the airline has to prove two things under Art. 5(3) of Regulation 261/2004: that the strike caused the cancellation or delay of your flight, and that it could not have avoided it with all reasonable measures.
Strikes by the airline’s own staff
Krüsemann (C-195/17). In October 2016 TUIfly announced a restructuring without warning. For about a week a large share of its flight crew reported sick, and the airline cancelled many flights.
The Court of Justice held that this was not an extraordinary circumstance. Restructuring is an ordinary management measure, conflict with staff is a normal consequence, and the action stopped once the airline reached an agreement with staff representatives, which showed it was within its control.
The Court added that whether a strike is legal under national law does not decide the question.
Airhelp v SAS (C-28/20). In 2019 SAS pilots held a lawful, union-organised strike over pay after negotiations failed.
The Court, sitting as Grand Chamber, held that a strike called by a union of the airline’s own staff, respecting the notice period required by national law, and aimed at pay or working conditions, is not an extraordinary circumstance.
Strikes are one of the ways collective bargaining happens, and an employer has means to prepare for and settle them. The right of staff to strike is not a reason to leave passengers without compensation.
Eurowings (C-613/20). The same applies when cabin crew of a subsidiary strike in solidarity with the staff of the parent company.
Good to know
For flights covered by UK261, Krüsemann was decided before the end of 2020 and remains part of UK case law. Airhelp v SAS came in 2021, so UK courts are not bound by it, although they may take it into account.
The UK Supreme Court reached a similar result for staff absence, holding that a pilot’s illness is inherent in running an airline (Lipton v BA City Flyer, [2024] UKSC 24).
Strikes by third parties
In Airhelp v SAS the Court contrasted the airline’s own staff with events “external” to it, giving strikes by air traffic controllers and airport staff as examples. These are generally accepted as extraordinary circumstances.
That does not end the matter. Ask the airline:
- Was my flight actually restricted, or did the airline cancel it to protect the rest of its schedule?
- What did it do to re-route me, including on other airlines?
- Was the strike over by the time of my flight? An airline that denied boarding to passengers in order to make room for others stranded by an airport strike two days earlier had to pay (CJEU, Finnair v Lassooy, C-22/11).
What is owed in every case
Whoever was on strike, the airline owes:
- A choice between a full refund within seven days and re-routing at the earliest opportunity (Art. 8).
- Care while you wait: meals and drinks, two phone calls or emails, a hotel and transfers if you are stuck overnight (Art. 9). There is no exception for extraordinary circumstances and no cap on the number of nights (CJEU, McDonagh, C-12/11).
- Reimbursement of reasonable costs if it left you to arrange these yourself. Keep receipts.
The rules for each are in flight cancellation and flight delay.
What to do
- Find out who is striking. News reports and the airport’s website are usually clearer than the airline’s message.
- Save the cancellation notice with its date. If it came 14 days or more before the flight, compensation is excluded whatever the cause (Art. 5(1)(c)(i)).
- Tell the airline in writing whether you want a refund or re-routing.
- If the airline’s own staff were on strike, claim compensation and cite C-28/20 and C-195/17. The claim letter includes that wording.
- If the airline refuses, see how to claim.
Outside Europe
- United States: a strike gives no right to compensation, only to a refund if the flight is cancelled or significantly delayed and you choose not to travel (US DOT rules).
- Brazil: the airline owes material assistance, re-accommodation or a refund whatever the cause (ANAC Resolution 400).
From 23 October 2027
Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 puts the distinction into the text. Its annex lists as extraordinary:
- Strikes at essential service providers such as airport operators, air navigation services and ground handlers the airline does not effectively choose.
- Strikes at the airline itself only where they stem from demands that only public authorities can satisfy.
Ordinary strikes by the airline’s own staff stay outside the list.