Flight cancelled because of a strike

Updated 13 October 2026

Your flight was cancelled or badly delayed because of a strike, and the airline says that means no compensation. Whether that is right depends on one question: whose staff were striking?

Two kinds of strike

The airline's own staff. Pilots, cabin crew or other employees called out by their union over pay or working conditions. This is not an extraordinary circumstance. The EU Court of Justice decided it in a case about the 2019 SAS pilot strike (Airhelp v SAS C-28/20, 23 March 2021). Strikes are a normal part of employment relations, and the airline can influence them.

Outsiders. Air traffic controllers, airport security or ground staff not employed by the airline. These strikes are usually accepted as extraordinary. Then the question is only whether the airline took all reasonable measures, for example rerouting you on other airlines (C-74/19).

What the courts and boards say

Wildcat action by the airline's own staff, such as a mass "sick-out" over a restructuring, is not extraordinary (Krüsemann C-195/17).
A subsidiary's staff striking in solidarity with the parent company's staff is not extraordinary either (CS v Eurowings C-613/20, 6 October 2021).
Denmark. The Eastern High Court ruled for passengers on 23 September 2022 after a short wildcat strike at SAS Ground Handling, a company in the SAS group.
Norway. After C-28/20, SAS gave in on about 30 complaints from the 2019 strike that were before the board, according to press reports.
Finland. KRIL accepted a 2019 Finnair cancellation caused by an aviation union's sympathy strike for the postal sector (Posti) as external, because Finnair was not a party to that dispute and could not influence it (D/6567/35/2019). So C-28/20 has limits: a strike over demands only someone else can meet may still count.

Old decisions. Some airlines cite ARN decisions from Sweden (2016-07656, 2019-07890) or KRIL's D/2890/35/2019, where airlines won on their own pilot strikes. All of them came before C-28/20. The EU Court's reading takes priority. See our page on SAS refusals.

External strikes: what still works

Even when air traffic controllers strike, the airline does not win automatically. It must show how the strike hit your flight, and what it did to get you to your destination as soon as possible, including flights on other airlines. Only the part of the delay the strike caused is excused (Pešková C-315/15). See ATC restrictions.

What evidence to ask for

who was striking, and who employed them
when the strike was announced
which flights were cancelled, and why yours
for ATC strikes: the NOTAMs or slot messages for your flight
which other airlines' flights were checked for rerouting

Step by step

Reply in writing. If the strikers were the airline's own staff or group staff, cite C-28/20 and C-613/20.
Wait about 4 weeks in Sweden and Norway, 6 weeks in Denmark.
Board for the country where the disruption happened: KRIL in Finland (after KKV, or ECC Finland for an airline based in another EU/EEA country or the UK), ARN in Sweden, Trafikstyrelsen in Denmark, Transportklagenemnda in Norway. See the Nordic complaint boards.
Court if the airline does not follow the decision.

When it is worth it, and when not

Strong: strikes by the airline's own pilots, cabin crew or group companies. These usually win.

Weak: an air traffic control strike that grounded every airline, where you were rebooked on the next available flight. Then compensation is unlikely, but meals, hotel and transport while you waited are still owed.

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

FAQ

The strike was announced weeks before. Does that matter?

Notice matters for cancellations: if you were told more than 14 days before departure, no compensation is due. Otherwise it is the cause of the strike that counts.

My flight was cancelled the day after the strike ended. Is that covered?

The airline must show the strike still caused your cancellation. Ask for the details.

Can I get money back for a ticket I bought elsewhere?

If the airline did not offer reasonable rerouting, proven costs of rebooking yourself can be claimed. Keep receipts.