Crew sickness is not an extraordinary circumstance

Updated 13 October 2026

Your flight was cancelled or hours late because "a crew member fell ill" or "the crew ran out of hours", and the airline refused compensation. Since 2023 the law on this is clear, and it is on your side.

What the courts say

In Joined Cases TAP Portugal C-156/22 to C-158/22 (11 May 2023), the EU Court of Justice looked at a co-pilot who died suddenly shortly before departure. Even that was not an extraordinary circumstance. Planning crew, including for illness and absence, is part of an airline's normal operations.

So if one pilot or cabin crew member fell ill, at home base or away from it, the airline cannot use it to refuse compensation under EU261.

Nordic practice

• Finland. KRIL now follows TAP Portugal. In a Berlin–Helsinki case where a crew member collapsed before boarding and no reserve crew was in Berlin, the passenger won €250 (D/3738/35/2021).
• Crew hours in Finland. KRIL treats crew running out of duty time like crew absence: normal operations. In D/914/35/2023 the weather in Frankfurt the night before was accepted. But the morning delay could have been avoided with standby crew at the airline's home base in Helsinki. In D/1369/35/2023 the airline could not show how long the bad weather lasted, so it could not split the delay between weather and crew hours, and the passengers won €400 each.
• Sweden. ARN ruled for the passenger when a pilot fell ill at an outstation; crew duty limits were not extraordinary (ARN 2020-08400).
• Denmark. Trafikstyrelsen has treated crew illness as normal operations since 1 July 2017, after a statement from the Danish Ombudsman. On 23 October 2025 Retten i Kolding ordered Airseven to pay €400 after its captain fell ill (BS-41437/2024-KOL).

When the airline may still win

• Epidemic-scale sickness. KRIL accepted a 2022 cancellation when 88 cabin crew were off sick in an Omicron and flu wave, above the extra standby the airline had planned (D/4910/35/2022). A Danish court accepted mass COVID sickness (U 2023.4874). One sick crew member is not that.
• Crew stuck because of weather. In a reported Norwegian case, Widerøe won when its cabin crew were stuck in Bergen by weather. Then it is a weather case, and the airline must prove the weather and its reasonable measures. See our Widerøe page.

What evidence to ask for

• which crew member was missing and when the airline knew
• what standby or reserve crew it had, and where
• for duty hours: what caused the earlier delay, with documents, and how long it lasted
• which other airlines' flights were checked when rebooking you

Step by step

1. Reply in writing. Cite TAP Portugal C-156/22 to C-158/22 and ask for the documents.
2. Wait about 4 weeks in Sweden and Norway, 6 weeks in Denmark.
3. Board for the country where the disruption happened. Finland: KRIL, after KKV or ECC Finland; EU261 cases can be filed in English. Sweden: ARN, 150 kr. Denmark: Trafikstyrelsen with MitID. Norway: Transportklagenemnda via www.reiselivsforum.no, Norwegian or English. See the Nordic complaint boards.
4. Court if the airline does not follow the decision.

When it is worth it, and when not

Strong: a single sick pilot or cabin crew member, at base or away, and crew hours that ran out after a delay the airline caused or cannot document.

Weaker: a sickness wave hitting large numbers of crew at once, or crew stranded by documented weather where you were rebooked quickly.

Appeal My Flight writes the reply and the board complaint for €29 per booking. You send it yourself and keep the payout.

More on the general rule: extraordinary circumstances.

FAQ

The crew member fell ill abroad, not at home base. Does that change anything?

No. In the Swedish case above the pilot fell ill at an outstation, and in the Finnish Berlin case there was no reserve crew there. The passengers won both.

The airline says it was a "safety decision". Is that different?

No. Flying only with a full, rested crew is a legal requirement. The question is why the airline had no crew to cover.

What about strikes disguised as sick days?

A mass "sick-out" by the airline's own staff is not extraordinary either (Krüsemann C-195/17). See strikes.