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You can receive compensation in the case of an airline strikes

8/7/2018

A new judgment from Luxembourg confirms that airline strikes cannot automatically be regarded as an extraordinary circumstance. As a passenger, you might therefore be entitled to compensation if your flight is cancelled due to a strike.

Our subsidiary ECC Luxembourg, which helped the two travelers who sued Lufthansa after their flight was cancelled due to a strike, is hoping that the judgment that was announced in late July will have a guiding effect.

The judgment concerns a flight from Luxembourg to Oslo in 2016 and the passengers have now received a refund as well as compensation for the cancelled flight. The court feels that the reported strike was not an extraordinary circumstance according to regulation EG/261/2004.

The new judgment is built on the EU court of justice case C-195/17 from April this year, where it was established that “A strike by flight staff following the surprise announcement of a restructuring does not constitute an extraordinary circumstance releasing the airline from its obligation to pay compensation in the event of cancellation or long delay of flight”.

Template for applying for financial compensation

Therefore, other travelers who have had their flight cancelled or rebooked due to a strike are urged to apply for financial compensation. ECC Luxembourg has created a document template in English that travelers are free to use for this purpose.

In the template, Ryanair is used as the recipient but you can naturally replace this airline with an airline of your choice.

Demand for a refund and financial compensation according to regulation EG/261/2004 (in English)