A SAS strike among cabin crew or pilots is a conflict involving SAS’s own staff. It normally counts as something within the airline’s control, and you are then usually entitled to €250–600 (about SEK 2,800–6,800) in compensation under EU 261 if your flight was cancelled or delayed by more than three hours — on top of the right to have the ticket price refunded or to be rebooked onto a new departure.
This is important to know, because "a strike means no compensation" is a stubborn misconception. It is true for some strikes — but not for a strike among SAS’s own people. This page goes through what you are entitled to, what to do if you are stuck right now, and how to claim your money afterwards.
Compensation or a refund — these are two different things
In a SAS strike, two rights are easily mixed up. Keep them apart from the start.
A refund means getting the money for your ticket back when you choose not to travel. Compensation is a fixed flat-rate amount of €250–600 for the inconvenience itself of the cancelled or delayed flight. We go through what applies in a flight strike in a separate section.
If a SAS flight is cancelled you always have the right to choose: be rebooked onto a new departure, or get the ticket price back. That choice applies whatever the reason the flight was cancelled. The right to the €250–600 is a separate question — and the fact that SAS refunds your ticket does not mean the compensation question is settled. The two things are decided separately.
Protect the claim during a SAS strike: written notice, kept documents and receipts.
Why a SAS strike among its own staff usually gives compensation
EU 261 gives no compensation when a disruption is caused by extraordinary circumstances outside the airline’s control. The question is whether a SAS strike falls inside or outside that exception — and the answer depends on who stopped work.
If SAS’s own cabin crew or own pilots strike, the conflict is about SAS’s own employment terms and SAS’s own negotiations. The Court of Justice of the EU examined a similar situation in the Krüsemann and Others case (C-195/17): staff at an airline called in sick in protest after a restructuring announcement. The court ruled that such a wildcat strike among an airline’s own staff belongs to normal operations and lies within the airline’s control — so it is not an extraordinary circumstance. The conclusion: a right to compensation.
What this means for you: if you get a rejection where SAS calls a strike by its own staff an "event outside our control", the rejection stands on weak ground. It is worth disputing.
It is different if your SAS departure was hit by an air traffic control strike (ATC strike) or a strike among airport staff. Then it is not SAS’s people striking, and the disruption lies outside SAS’s control. Such strikes normally count as extraordinary circumstances, and then no compensation is paid — even if it is a SAS flight that is cancelled. We go through where the line is drawn in detail on the page about whether a flight strike is an extraordinary circumstance.
What you are entitled to — the amounts
| Flight distance | Compensation | Approximately in krona | Typical SAS example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 1,500 km | €250 | approx. SEK 2,800 | Domestic; the Nordics and nearest Europe |
| 1,500–3,500 km | €400 | approx. SEK 4,500 | Most of Europe |
| Over 3,500 km | €600 | approx. SEK 6,800 | Intercontinental SAS routes |
The amount is per person and applies to children with their own ticket too. EUR is the legal unit in EU 261; the krona figures are approximate and move with the exchange rate. Compensation requires that the flight was cancelled or that you arrived more than three hours late, and that you were told less than 14 days before departure.
If you are stuck right now — what to do
If a SAS strike is going on as you read this and your flight is cancelled, it comes down to two things: being looked after, and protecting the claim. Do this:
- Ask for the notice in writing. Get it confirmed — in the app, by text or by email — that the flight is cancelled, and ideally the reason. Take a screenshot.
- Keep your boarding pass and booking confirmation. Throw nothing away. Photograph the departures board showing "cancelled" too.
- Actively choose rebooking or a refund. You have the right to the choice. If you still want to travel, demand rebooking onto the earliest possible departure — including with another airline if SAS cannot rebook you quickly.
- Claim meals and a hotel. If you have to wait a long time you are entitled to meals and drinks; overnight, also a hotel and transport. If SAS does not take responsibility on the spot — buy something reasonable yourself and keep every receipt.
- Do not accept a voucher instead of money. A credit note is not the same as cash compensation, and do not sign anything that asks you to waive further claims.
A longer checklist is on our page about what to do during a flight strike.
The duty of care applies — even if compensation does not
If your SAS disruption turns out to be due to an air traffic control strike and therefore gives no right to the €250–600, one right still remains: the duty of care. SAS must provide you with meals and drinks during the wait, and a hotel plus transport if you are stranded overnight — regardless of the type of strike. It is often the only right left in an ATC strike, and the receipts you have kept are money you can claim back.
How to claim after a SAS strike
When the strike is over and you want to claim compensation: start by finding out which strike it was. If the news reported that SAS cabin crew or pilots were on strike, it leans towards you being entitled to compensation.
You can claim in two ways. Yourself, at no cost — you send the claim straight to SAS citing EU 261, and if it says no you can take the case to ARN (Allmänna reklamationsnämnden — the Swedish National Board for Consumer Disputes), which reviews consumer disputes for free. It takes time and patience but costs nothing. Or you let a passenger rights service handle it for a share of the amount if the case succeeds — more convenient, but you keep less. Read more in compensation for a delayed SAS flight .
Make a first assessment of what you might be entitled to with our flight compensation calculator. If you want to know more about SAS as an airline and earlier disruptions, see our page on compensation for SAS flights.
This is not legal advice
This page is based on published and institutional sources — an expert review has not yet been carried out. For advice on your individual case, turn to ARN (the Swedish National Board for Consumer Disputes) or Transportstyrelsen (the Swedish Transport Agency), the supervisory authority for air passenger rights in Sweden.
Strike cases are assessed individually. This page is updated during ongoing SAS strikes and when new case law or new guidance from Transportstyrelsen gives reason to.
Frequently asked questions
Am I entitled to compensation if SAS cancels my flight because of a strike?
If SAS’s own cabin crew or own pilots strike, it normally counts as within SAS’s control, and you are then usually entitled to €250–600 (about SEK 2,800–6,800) in compensation under EU 261 — provided the flight was cancelled or delayed by more than three hours and you were told less than 14 days in advance. If the disruption is due to an air traffic control strike or an airport strike, normally no compensation applies, even if SAS flights are affected.
How much money can I get in a SAS strike?
The amount depends on the distance: €250 (about SEK 2,800) for flights up to 1,500 km, €400 (about SEK 4,500) for 1,500–3,500 km and €600 (about SEK 6,800) for longer flights. SAS domestic and within the Nordics is usually in the lowest band; longer European flights in the middle band. Compensation is per person and comes on top of a ticket refund or rebooking.
SAS says the strike is an extraordinary circumstance — is that true?
Not for a strike among SAS’s own staff. The Court of Justice of the EU ruled in the Krüsemann case (C-195/17) that a wildcat strike among an airline’s own staff is not an extraordinary circumstance. If you get a rejection where SAS calls a strike by its own cabin crew or pilots an event outside its control, that rejection stands on weak ground and is worth disputing. It is different if the disruption was in fact due to an air traffic control strike.
Do I get meals and a hotel if a SAS strike strands me?
Yes. The duty of care applies in every strike, even those that give no right to compensation. SAS must offer meals and drinks during the wait and a hotel plus transport if you have to wait overnight. If SAS does not meet its responsibility on the spot, you can buy reasonable meals and accommodation yourself and claim the expenses afterwards — keep all receipts.
Should I accept SAS’s offer straight away at the airport?
You can safely choose rebooking or a refund — those are rights you have. Be careful, though, with offers of vouchers, credit notes or "goodwill" compensation, and with forms that ask you to waive further claims. Accepting your ticket money back does not extinguish the right to the €250–600 in compensation, but a signed final settlement can. Read what you sign.
Sources and further reading
- EUR-Lex — Regulation (EC) No 261/2004
- Court of Justice of the EU — Krüsemann and Others, C-195/17 (a wildcat strike among an airline’s own staff is not an extraordinary circumstance)
- Transportstyrelsen — Passenger rights (the supervisory authority in Sweden)
- ARN — Allmänna reklamationsnämnden (the Swedish National Board for Consumer Disputes) — reviews consumer disputes at no cost
For the full picture of strikes and compensation, see our walkthrough of flight strikes and compensation.
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