ATC strikes: why your cancelled flight (usually) won't pay out
Spoiler: a strike by air-traffic controllers in the overflown country is one of the few real "extraordinary circumstances" recognised by the CJEU. But four exceptions flip about half the files.
We get this question every week: 'French ATC strike, my Paris–Madrid was cancelled, can you get me 400 €?'. Honest answer: probably not. An air-traffic controller strike is, baseline, an extraordinary circumstance that excuses the airline.
But it's not that simple. At least four carve-outs put cases back in scope. We see them every week.
The baseline rule: Krüsemann
CJEU, Krüsemann and Others (C-195/17, 2018): a 'wildcat strike' by TUIfly's own staff is NOT an extraordinary circumstance. A strike by the airline's own EMPLOYEES is its operational risk.
By contrast: a strike by AIR-TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS — civil servants in France (DGAC), employees of ENAV in Italy, etc. — is external to the carrier. The Court already accepted in Pešková (C-315/15, 2017) that external events outside the carrier's effective control can qualify. ATC strikes are in that category.
The four carve-outs that bring the file back
1. The airline did not take reasonable measures
Article 5.3 requires more than invoking the circumstance — the airline must show it took every reasonable measure to avoid the harm. If strike notice was 8 days out and no rerouting was attempted, eligibility comes back.
2. Notice was timely (Article 5.1.c)
The regulation provides that a cancellation notified less than 14 days before departure gives compensation EVEN under extraordinary circumstances — unless the airline offers tight-window rerouting (Article 5.1.c.iii). Many files flip here.
3. The strike was effectively ignored
A common case: the airline keeps the flight scheduled knowing it will be cancelled downstream. If the aircraft taxis for two hours then returns to the gate, the strike didn't cause the prejudice — the airline's decision to try did.
4. France-specific: partial DGAC strike
When the DGAC imposes a 50% reduced flight plan, airlines must choose which flights to cancel. A discretionary choice that, depending on jurisdiction, can defeat the force-majeure argument. The Bobigny first-instance court adopted that reasoning in 2024 (pending appeal).
What to check before giving up
Before binning the file: pull the strike notice (date it was issued), ask for proof of the rerouting offered, and check whether other flights from the same airline on the same route operated that day. Three elements usually unstick a file that looked closed.
We qualify roughly 35–40% of 'ATC strike' files as eligible after this filter. The airline doesn't know — and won't tell you.