Passenger Rights
Air traffic control strikes and your rights
An ATC strike can ground a flight at no fault of your airline. What you are owed — and what you are not — under EU 261.
6 min read
The strike that is not an excuse
A strike by the airline’s own staff is, in the settled view of the Court of Justice, part of running an airline. It does not excuse the fixed compensation.
A strike by air-traffic control generally does. The airline could not have prevented it, so the fixed sum falls away.
What survives an ATC strike
Even in extraordinary circumstances your right to care survives: meals and refreshments in reasonable proportion to the wait, two free communications, and accommodation with transfers if you are stranded overnight.
- Keep every receipt for meals, taxis and hotels you had to arrange yourself.
- Ask the airline for written confirmation of the reason for the disruption.
- Do not accept a voucher in place of a refund you are owed.
Check your own flight
It takes two minutes and costs nothing. If we do not recover your compensation, you pay nothing at all.
Check compensationBeen delayed or cancelled?
You may be owed €250 to €600 per passenger. Find out for free, in two minutes.