Strike compensation - delayed or cancelled flight

Not every strike constitutes an extraordinary circumstance that exempts the airline from its obligation to pay compensation under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004. In some cases of strikes, the airline may be exempt; in others, it may not, and in such cases you may be entitled to full compensation. It matters who is on strike - employees of the airline itself or people outside it - as well as whether the airline could have mitigated the consequences of the strike.

In brief:

• A strike by airport staff or by air traffic controllers may constitute an extraordinary circumstance if it has affected the specific flight and the airline was unable to avoid the consequences by taking reasonable measures.
• A strike by the airline’s own staff is, as a rule, not considered an extraordinary circumstance. An exception applies where the strikers’ demands can be met only by public authorities.
• If a flight is cancelled or delayed due to a strike, the airline is obliged to provide care - food, drinks and, if necessary, hotel accommodation - regardless of whether the strike constitutes an extraordinary circumstance. In the event of a cancellation, care must be provided immediately; in the event of a delay, it must be provided after 2, 3 or 4 hours, depending on the distance.
• If a flight is cancelled due to a strike, the airline must offer a choice between a refund of the ticket price and re-routing to the final destination.
• From 23 October 2027, Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 specifies explicitly which strikes constitute extraordinary circumstances.

What does the airline owe you in the event of any strike?

Care is provided regardless of who is on strike, what the reason for the strike is, and whether compensation is payable. The right to care arises:

• in the event of a cancelled flight or denied boarding - immediately;
• in the event of a delay - where the departure is delayed by 2 hours or more for flights of up to 1,500 km, by 3 hours or more for flights within the EU of over 1,500 km and for other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km, and by 4 hours or more for all other flights.

The care includes:

• food and drink, taking into account the waiting time;
• hotel accommodation and transport between the airport and the hotel, where one or more overnight stays are required;
• two free telephone calls, faxes or emails.

If the airline has not provided you with care and you have paid for it yourself, keep your receipts, invoices and payment slips - you can claim reimbursement for necessary, appropriate and reasonable expenses.

If your flight is cancelled, you are also entitled to choose between a refund of the ticket price and re-routing to your final destination. In the event of a delay of 5 hours or more at take-off, you may cancel your journey and request a refund of the ticket price and, where applicable, a return flight to your original point of departure.

Which strikes might constitute extraordinary circumstances?

Strikes by persons outside the airline may be beyond its effective control, for example:

• air traffic controllers and air traffic control staff;
• ground staff at the airport or an external ground handling provider, where the strike is beyond the airline’s effective control;
• security staff or border control officers.

However, compensation is not automatically forfeited when people outside the airline go on strike. The carrier must prove that the strike actually affected your specific flight and that it took all reasonable measures to minimise the consequences.

Which strikes do not constitute extraordinary circumstances?

A strike by the airline’s own staff is part of its normal operations and, as a rule, does not constitute an extraordinary circumstance:

• the carrier’s pilots and cabin crew;
• airline staff in ground handling.

Labour disputes with the airline’s own staff fall within the scope of the airline’s management. It has the time and opportunity to prepare - to negotiate, to arrange for a stand-by crew or to re-route passengers. An exception may only apply where the strikers’ demands can be met solely by public authorities.

The Court of Justice of the EU has ruled that a pilots’ strike, called by their trade union to demand higher pay and given prior notice in accordance with the law, does not exempt the airline. The same applies where the airline’s staff go on strike in support of a strike against the parent company within its group. The mass absence of the airline’s crews on ‘sick leave’ following a surprise announcement of restructuring does not, either, constitute an extraordinary circumstance.

Which strikes most commonly affect passengers travelling from Bulgaria?

In Aeroisk’s experience, the most common types of flight cancellations or delays caused by strikes are of two kinds:

• Strikes by air traffic controllers in France and Italy. In the case of strikes in France, flights that merely pass over French airspace - for example, those bound for Spain or Portugal - are often affected as well;
• strikes by the staff of Lufthansa and, less frequently, by Austrian Airlines - pilots, cabin crew or ground staff.

A strike by air traffic controllers may constitute an extraordinary circumstance if the airline can prove that it specifically affected that particular flight. As a rule, a strike by the airline’s own staff does not constitute an extraordinary circumstance, and you may be entitled to compensation.