Airline strike
Flygstrejk - Engelska
If your air travel is cancelled due to a strike, you have the right to rebook your ticket or get your money back. You may also have the right to financial compensation according to EU legislation.
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Translated page: This text has been translated from Swedish. The text and appearance of the page may look different from the original page.
Your rights when the flight is cancelled due to a strike
You have the same rights when your air travel is cancelled due to a strike as when it is cancelled for other reasons. If you are affected by a flight that is cancelled due to a strike, you always have the right to rebook your ticket or get a refund for the ticket. It is you who chooses which option best suits you. Contact the airline to rebook or get your money back.
Read more about your rights in the event of a cancelled flight
When air travel is cancelled, you also have a right to financial compensation according to the EU’s common legislation. But if the strike is deemed to be an extraordinary circumstance, you do not have the right to financial compensation under the EU rules.
You also have a right to assistance from the airline with, for example, food and lodging if the strike means that you are stuck at the destination.
If the air travel is a part of a travel package, it is the travel organiser that is responsible for arranging a suitable replacement alternative, such as a flight with another airline.
Is a strike an extraordinary circumstance?
Sometimes, air travel is cancelled due to a extraordinary circumstance. Examples of circumstances that may be extraordinary are political instability, weather conditions that make it impossible to fly, security risks or unforeseen deficiencies in flight safety.
No straight answer can be given whether a strike is an extraordinaryevent. The assessment of what is extraordinary is always made case by case. This means that there are no set situations that are extraordinary. There are strikes that have been deemed to be extraordinary, but there are also examples of the opposite.
It is the airline that makes the initial assessment of whether the strike behind the flight cancellation is an extraordinary circumstance. If they believe that it is, they will not pay you financial compensation. If you do not agree with the airline, you can take the matter further to a dispute resolution body to get an impartial assessment. In Sweden, the National Board for Consumer Disputes (ARN) is the dispute resolution body you can contact. If the strike has taken place in a different country, you must contact that country’s dispute resolution body. Their assessment is not binding, but many companies choose to follow the recommendations.
If the airline does not follow the dispute resolution body’s recommendation, you can turn to a court. It is only a court that can make a legally binding decision on whether a strike is an extraordinary circumstance or not.
Source: KonsumentverketKonsument Europa
Proofread: 1 February 2022
This website is co-financed by the European Union. ECC Sweden is part of the Swedish Consumer Agency and is co-financed by the EU.