If your flight was delayed or cancelled because of an airline strike, you might be able to get up to £530/€600 in compensation if your flight was departing from or arriving in the EU. This can be helpful because airline strikes can cause confusion and disrupt travel plans for passengers.
If your flight was delayed or cancelled because of an airline staff strike, you may be able to claim compensation if your situation meets certain conditions. These conditions include:
Airline strikes are when the employees of the airline, such as pilots, cabin crew, and engineers, go on strike. If this caused your flight delay or cancellation, you may be entitled to compensation under EU Regulation EC 261. The airline is responsible for its employees’ actions and must compensate you accordingly.
If you’ve experienced flight disruption due to an airline staff strike, you can use our Top 5 list of flight claim companies to help you claim the compensation you’re entitled to.
If your flight was delayed or cancelled due to a strike caused by employees outside of the airline’s control, such as airport security staff, baggage handlers, air traffic management staff, or political unrest, you are not entitled to strike compensation. These types of strikes are known as “extraordinary circumstances” which are out of the airline’s control, and they cannot be held responsible for flight disruptions caused by them.
If you’re not sure whether you qualify for airline strike compensation, don’t worry. The quickest way to find out is to select one of the top flight compensation companies from our list, complete their claim form with your flight information, and wait for their response. They will inform you if your flight qualifies for strike compensation and how much you could receive.
There might be various circumstances that influence your compensation amount. You may be entitled to up to £530/€600 strike compensation if your flight was delayed or cancelled because of airline fault.
Sometimes, airline staff strikes can cause flight cancellations. If your flight was cancelled due to an airline strike, you may be eligible for compensation. To receive compensation, the airline must have informed you less than 14 days before your scheduled departure, and they could not offer you an alternative flight that arrived at a similar time. The amount of compensation you may be entitled to depends on the length of the flight and how long you were delayed in arriving at your final destination. Please refer to the table below for more information:
Less than 2 hours | 2 – 3 hours | 3 – 4 hours | More than 4 hours | Never arrived | Distance |
£111/€125 | £220/€250 | £220/€250 | £220/€250 | £220/€250 | All flights 1,500 km or less |
£178/€200 | £178/€200 | £350/€400 | £350/€400 | £350/€400 | Internal EU flights over 1,500 km |
£178/€200 | £178/€200 | £350/€400 | £350/€400 | £350/€400 | Non-internal EU flights between 1,500 km and 3,500 km |
£260/€300 | £260/€300 | £260/€300 | £530/€600 | £530/€600 | Non-internal EU flights over 3,500 km |
You may also check your airline strike compensation amount with our flight compensation calculator.
If your flight is delayed for a long time because of an airline strike, it could really mess up your plans. However, you might be entitled to compensation if your flight arrives 3 or more hours late at your destination. Check out the table below to see how much compensation you could be eligible for due to the airline strike-related delay:
Less than 3 hours | 3 – 4 hours | More than 4 hours | Never arrived | Distance |
€0 | £220/€250 | £220/€250 | £220/€250 | All flights 1,500 km or less |
€0 | £350/€400 | £350/€400 | £350/€400 | Internal EU flights over 1,500 km |
€0 | £350/€400 | £350/€400 | £350/€400 | Non-internal EU flights between 1,500 km and 3,500 km |
€0 | £260/€300 | £530/€600 | £530/€600 | Non-internal EU flights over 3,500 km |
You may also check how much airline strike compensation you might receive with our flight compensation calculator.
If the airline staff is on strike, it may lead to overbooking and you might be involuntarily denied boarding. If that happens, you may be entitled to airline strike compensation. You can find more information on this type of compensation in the denied boarding compensation section.
In the case of a flight delay or cancellation caused by a strike, it is essential to understand your rights as a passenger. The airline is obligated to provide you with necessary facilities such as food, drinks, accommodation, and transfers. You have the right to reject your flight and receive reimbursement or choose another flight. Moreover, the European Court of Justice has decided that compensation for past strikes, which occurred no more than three years ago, is now available under EU Regulation EC 261.
In case of an airline strike causing flight delay, cancellation, or denied boarding, you have the right to certain facilities depending on the length of the delay. The airline is obligated to provide you with food and drinks during the delay, and two communication opportunities via phone, fax, or email. Furthermore, they must arrange overnight accommodation and transportation to and from the airport.
When there’s an airline strike causing a delay or cancellation of your flight for more than 5 hours, you have the option to decline boarding and request a refund. You may also be offered an alternative flight by the airline to reach your intended destination.
The European Court of Justice has made a decision that strikes by airline staff are not considered as “extraordinary circumstances” when it comes to compensation claims. This applies retrospectively, meaning that flights affected by strikes that happened within the past 3 years are now eligible for compensation under EU Regulation EC 261. This means that even flights affected by strikes, such as the Ryanair strikes, that took place less than 3 years ago are now eligible for compensation.