Flight delayed by a strike: are you owed compensation?
Reviewed by José Romero Lara
EU261 aviation lawyer — 5+ years as in-house legal counsel at international airlines
The answer isn’t a flat yes or no: it depends on who calls the strike. A strike by your own airline’s pilots or crew is not an extraordinary circumstance, and compensation is owed. A strike by air traffic controllers can be one, but the airline has to prove it. This guide explains the difference, what you can still demand even when compensation isn’t owed, and how to claim.
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Check my flight1Are you owed compensation? It depends who is striking
The CJEU has drawn a clear line: if the strike is called by the airline’s own staff, it’s a normal business risk and doesn’t exempt it from paying. If it’s called by a third party outside the company, it can exempt the airline, but only if it proves the effect on your flight.
Strike by pilots, crew or your airline’s own ground staff
This is an internal labour dispute: managing it is part of the airline’s normal activity, so it’s not an extraordinary circumstance and compensation is owed (CJEU, C-28/20).
A spontaneous walkout after a restructuring announcement
Even a wildcat strike not formally called by a union still stems from the airline’s own staff management and also doesn’t exempt it from paying (CJEU, C-195/17, Krüsemann).
Air traffic controller (ATC) strike
This is outside the airline’s control, but it’s only exempt if it proves that strike affected your specific flight and that it took all reasonable measures to avoid or reduce the impact.
Strike by handling, security or other external airport suppliers
If that staff isn’t employed by the airline, it can be argued as an extraordinary circumstance, but again the airline must prove the effect on your flight and the reasonable measures it took.
If your flight was late because the aircraft or crew arrived delayed from an earlier rotation affected by the strike, the airline must also show a direct link between that strike and the delay of your specific flight (CJEU, C-74/19): it isn’t enough to say there was a strike that day.
Compensation per passenger, when it’s owed
Up to 1,500 km
Madrid–Barcelona, Madrid–London, Barcelona–Rome
Over 1,500 km within the EU, or 1,500–3,500 km
Madrid–Tenerife, Barcelona–Athens, Madrid–Cairo
Over 3,500 km outside the EU
Madrid–New York, Madrid–Buenos Aires
It can be halved
If you’re rebooked on a flight arriving no more than 2, 3 or 4 hours after your scheduled arrival (depending on distance), the airline may pay 50% (Art. 7(2)).
2The assistance that never disappears, even when the strike is extraordinary
A strike exempting the airline from paying compensation doesn’t release it from the Article 9 duty of care. This duty is separate from the cause of the delay or cancellation and from distance: it’s owed for as long as the wait lasts, including during an air traffic controller strike.
Food and drink appropriate to the length of the wait.
Two free phone calls, emails or faxes to notify whoever you need to.
Accommodation and transfers to a hotel if you have to stay overnight.
All of this is owed for as long as the wait lasts, with no limit on hours or distance, whatever the cause of the delay.
A common mistake
Many passengers assume that if a strike is an extraordinary circumstance, the airline owes them nothing. Compensation and assistance are separate rights: the second never disappears.
3Minimum services: an argument specific to Spain
In Spain, when a strike affects aviation, the relevant Ministry sets minimum services by ministerial order: a percentage of scheduled flights that must keep operating to guarantee essential mobility. These orders are published in the BOE (Official State Gazette) when the strike is called.
If your flight was among those designated as a minimum service and was still cancelled or badly delayed, you have a strong extra argument: the airline breached an obligation set by the authorities, which reinforces that it didn’t take all reasonable measures available, especially if the strike was by third parties rather than its own staff.
How to check
The minimum services order for each strike is published in the BOE in the days before it. Keep a copy or the link if your flight appears among those that had to keep operating.
4What to keep to prove the strike and its effect on your flight
The airline’s own notice naming the strike as the reason for the delay or cancellation, and who it affects (pilots, crew, controllers, handling…).
A photo of the departures board with the actual time and flight status.
Your boarding pass and booking confirmation.
Receipts for any food, transport or hotel you paid for yourself.
The airline’s own notice is usually your best evidence: if it says “crew strike” or “pilot strike”, it confirms compensation is owed. If it says “controller strike” or “ATC strike”, it doesn’t end your claim: it just shifts to the airline the burden of proving that specific strike affected your flight and that it couldn’t avoid it.
5How to claim, step by step
- 1
Identify the type of strike
Check the airline’s notice or public sources for who called it: the airline’s own staff or a third party outside the company.
- 2
Gather your documents
Keep your booking, boarding pass, the airline’s notice and receipts for any expenses you paid.
- 3
Claim in writing to the airline
Ask for the compensation due depending on distance and, if applicable, reimbursement of assistance costs, citing the flight number and date.
- 4
No reply or unsatisfied in a month? Escalate
You can complain free of charge to AESA if the flight departed Spain, or go to the juzgado de primera instancia (no lawyer needed up to €2,000).
- 5
Or hand it to AviFly
We assess your case and handle the claim and, if needed, the lawsuit. We only charge if you get your compensation: 15% + VAT out of court and 30% + VAT in court.
6If the airline doesn’t reply: AESA and the courts
Since 2 June 2023, AESA’s decision is binding on the airline: if it rules in your favour, the airline has one month to pay you, and if it doesn’t, you can have that decision enforced before the juzgado de primera instancia, with no need for a new lawsuit. Filing is free and done online, within one year of your first claim to the airline. For claims about flights before 2 June 2023, AESA’s report was not binding; that limitation no longer applies.
Timeline if you escalate your claim
Wait for the airline to reply
Before you can go to AESA
File the claim with AESA
From your first claim to the airline
AESA decides
Indicative timeframe, extendable for complex cases
The airline must pay
From when AESA notifies its decision
AESA doesn’t handle baggage
If the problem is a bag lost or damaged during a strike, that’s governed by the Montreal Convention, not by AESA.
The generally accepted time limit to claim in Spain is 5 years from the flight date (Art. 1964 of the Spanish Civil Code).
AviFly claims for your strike-affected flight
Nothing upfront. We only charge if you get your compensation.
Check my case for freeFrequently asked questions
How do I know if the strike was by my airline’s staff or a third party?
The airline must tell you the reason for the delay or cancellation. If it mentions a pilot, crew or its own ground staff strike, it’s an internal labour dispute and compensation is owed. If it mentions an air traffic controller, security or external handling strike, it may be an extraordinary circumstance, but the airline must prove it affected your flight.
Am I owed food and a hotel even if the strike is an extraordinary circumstance?
Yes. The Article 9 duty of care — food, drink, communications and accommodation if you need to stay overnight — is separate from whether compensation is owed, and has no distance limit.
What are minimum services and do they help my claim?
They’re the percentage of flights the relevant Ministry requires to keep operating during a strike, published in the BOE. If your flight was among the minimum services and was still cancelled or badly delayed, it’s strong evidence the airline didn’t take all reasonable measures.
Can I claim if my flight was delayed by the knock-on effect of a strike on an earlier flight?
Yes, but the airline must prove a direct link between the strike and the delay of your specific flight (CJEU, C-74/19). It isn’t enough that there was a strike that day in general.
Who do I claim to if the airline doesn’t reply?
If the flight departed Spain, you can complain free of charge to AESA, whose decision has been binding on the airline since 2 June 2023, or go to the juzgado de primera instancia. The generally accepted time limit to claim is 5 years from the flight.