Airline Must Pay Compensation if Strikes Cancel Flights

Airlines have to pay passengers compensation for cancelled flights if strikes are to blame, the European Court of Justice ruled on Tuesday.

The background to the case was a seven-day strike by pilots of the Scandinavian Airlines System ( SAS) that saw a number of flights cancelled in 2019.

One of the passengers, who wanted to travel from Malmo to Stockholm, asked for compensation for a cancelled flight, but SAS refused to pay. They argued that the strike constituted an "extraordinary circumstance," which companies can rely on to be exempt from compensation requirements.

But on Tuesday, the ECJ sided with passengers and argued that a strike does not constitute an extraordinary circumstance if it aimed at improving working conditions or securing pay increases.

The court ruled that strikes must be considered a part of an employer's activity. Therefore, they should be planned for.

Moreover, as EU law guaranteed the right to strike, this was also "foreseeable for any employer," according to a press release. This means that the employer kept some control over the events, the court found.

An exception remains if only public authorities could satisfy the demands of the strike, the court said.

Airlines hence have to pay passengers for flights that were cancelled or delayed because of strikes within the company.

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