A strike by SAS’s own cabin crew or pilots is not an extraordinary circumstance, so the €250, €400 or €600 stays due. The Court of Justice decided that against SAS itself in Airhelp v SAS (C-28/20, 23 March 2021). Distance sets the band; a three-hour arrival delay unlocks it.
The judgment with SAS’s name on it
In Airhelp v Scandinavian Airlines System Denmark – Norway – Sweden (C-28/20, 23 March 2021) the Grand Chamber held that Article 5(3) must be read as meaning that strike action called by a trade union of the operating carrier’s own staff, in compliance with the notice period required by national law, intended to assert that carrier’s workers’ demands, and followed by a category of staff essential to operating the flight, does not fall within the concept of an extraordinary circumstance.
The reasoning is the part to quote back: a strike by the airline’s own employees is inherent to the normal exercise of its activity and, given the notice the law requires, foreseeable. It is not an outside event the airline could do nothing about.
That is the opposite of an air traffic control strike, or a strike by airport staff the airline does not employ. Those are external, and airlines usually win on them. The whole distinction is in airline strikes and compensation.
Which SAS company flew you
The UK schemes list SAS-Scandinavian Airlines and SAS Connect as separate members. Under Article 2(b) the claim belongs to the airline that operated the flight, so read the “operated by” line on your booking before you name a company. A claim aimed at the wrong entity comes back on a technicality rather than on the merits — see which airline actually owes you.
Where the bands land from Scandinavia
Great-circle distance to your final destination sets the amount. From the airport coordinates this site ships:
| Route | Great-circle | Band |
|---|---|---|
| Copenhagen – Stockholm | 547 km | €250 |
| Copenhagen – London Heathrow | 979 km | €250 |
| Stockholm – Madrid | 2,600 km | €400 |
| Copenhagen – New York JFK | 6,189 km | €600 |
| Stockholm – New York JFK | 6,293 km | €600 |
| Copenhagen – Bangkok | 8,637 km | €600 |
Unlike a purely short-haul carrier, SAS runs a long-haul network where the €600 band is ordinary rather than exceptional. The amounts themselves are in the amounts table.
Three countries, three complaint routes
SAS departs from all three Scandinavian states, and the enforcement body follows the airport you departed from, not the airline’s head office.
| You departed | Body | What its own page says |
|---|---|---|
| Denmark | Trafikstyrelsen, the Danish Civil Aviation and Railway Authority | English pages; complain to the airline first and give it up to 6 weeks to answer; the authority handles the complaint free of charge; it states standard processing takes 9 to 12 months |
| Sweden | Konsumentverket, the Swedish Consumer Agency | The Commission lists it as Sweden’s enforcement body; its air-travel pages are in Swedish and do not name a separate dispute board |
| Norway | Transportklagenemnda, via Norsk ReiselivsForum | You register the case after complaining in writing to the company |
| United Kingdom | CAA route — SAS and SAS Connect are listed as CEDR members | Apply within 12 months of the airline’s final response; a CEDR decision binds the airline |
Nine to twelve months is the Danish authority’s own published processing time. That is not a reason to skip it — it is free and it works — but it is a reason to send your written claim to SAS the same week you land, so the clock starts while you still hold the boarding passes. Chase in writing at four weeks, and file with the body as soon as you have the answer or the six weeks have gone by.
What we could not verify
SAS’s own site returned HTTP 403 to every automated request we made on 6 September 2026, so we could not open its EU261 claim form to read it. We do not publish a claim URL we have not been able to open. Go to SAS’s customer service contact forms from its own site, use the EU261 form there, and keep the case number.
Does SAS have to pay when its pilots strike?
Yes, on the reasoning in C-28/20: a strike by its own staff called by their union is not extraordinary, so Article 5(3) does not release it. If the refusal letter cites “industrial action” without saying whose, reply asking which union called it and which employer’s staff took part.
What if the strike was air traffic control?
That is a different answer. A strike by controllers or by airport employees the airline does not employ is generally treated as external and can be extraordinary — but the airline still has to show what it did to limit your delay, and it still owes you meals, a hotel and a refund or re-routing.
Rules in force today
This is the law that applies to a flight you take today. A revision of Regulation 261/2004 was adopted in July 2026 — the Parliament approved the conciliation text on 7 July 2026 and the Council gave final approval on 13 July 2026 — and it is not yet in force: it applies 12 months after it enters into force following publication in the Official Journal, and the final text sets the details. See what the 2026 EU261 reform changes.