Passengers are usually entitled to compensation even if their connection has been canceled due to a cabin crew strike.
There are only exceptions in limited individual cases, according to a judgment of the European Court of Justice published on Wednesday.
The complaint was filed by a consumer who demanded 250 euros because his flight from Salzburg to Berlin was canceled due to a strike (Case C-613/20).
The airline Eurowings alleged that the stoppage was a so-called extraordinary circumstance and that the company had taken all reasonable measures to limit the effects of the strike. The highest European court takes the view, however, that it is foreseeable that if a parent company calls for a strike, employees from other parts of the group will join the strike. Like any employer, an airline whose employees go on strike for better working conditions “cannot claim that it has no influence whatsoever on these measures”.
In principle, according to EU law, travelers have the option of claiming up to 250 euros on short flights if their connection is canceled and no appropriate alternative is offered.
This applies to flights of less than 1,500 kilometers; the amount of compensation increases for longer distances.
However, there are some exceptions, for example if passengers are informed at least two weeks in advance, or if there is an "exceptional circumstance" - as Eurowings believes in this case.
According to the relevant EU regulation, this is the case if the circumstances for the cancellation "could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken"