The pilot strike at SAS in April and May last year affected over 370,000 passengers. Now the European Court of Justice has to decide on liability – both for this and similar strikes in Europe.

More than 1,400 SAS pilots went on strike between April 26 and May 3, 2019, stopping about 4,000 flights and thus a large part of air traffic over Scandinavia. The strike had consequences for some 370,000 passengers.

Following the strike, SAS has refused to compensate the affected passengers in accordance with EU Regulation EC261 – a standard compensation applicable in the event of cancellations or longer flight delays. The company claims that the strike goes by the term “extraordinary incident” which deprives airlines of liability.

The compensation company Airhelp believes that a strike carried out by the company’s own pilots does not fall within the term “extraordinary incident” and that it is therefore the airline’s own responsibility. They refer to a judgment in a lawsuit brought against airline TUIfly in 2018, which ruled that an internal strike by an airline is liable for damages in the EU.

On behalf of the passengers concerned, Airhelp believes that SAS is liable for damages and in August took the airline to court in both Sweden and Denmark. The Swedish court has decided that the case should be decided before the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.

According to a press release from Airhelp, it could cost SAS hundreds of millions if they lose the case. Each passenger who has been affected by the strike is entitled to up to 600 Euro in compensation depending on the length of the journey.

According to Airhelp, the aim of the case against SAS is that the airlines change their treatment of striking passengers in Europe and that the companies pay the compensation which they believe their customers are entitled to. Compensation companies like Airhelp even receive a percentage of the client’s profits.