If you're flying this summer, you might be worried an airline or airport strike could ruin your holiday. You probably think travel insurance is there to protect you in these situations, however some policies exclude strike action – so it’s important you check. Here’s what to look for and compensation you can claim if your flight is delayed or cancelled.

Airline and airport strikes are expected across Europe

Due to cost of living rises and negotiations over working conditions and pay, sadly strike action has become a firm fixture of 2023. Travel is no exception, with trade unions warning security, ground and air traffic control workers could strike within UK and European airports this summer. 

It’s important to remember that nobody wants a strike to go ahead; workers and airlines both lose money, and travellers face longer queues, delays and cancellations. However, while the threat of a strike might not result in disruption, it’s still worth brushing up on your rights

If your flight is delayed or cancelled, the airline must help

Provided you’re either flying out of a UK or EU airport, returning to the UK on a UK or EU airline, or arriving at an EU airport on a UK airline, you have the following rights: 

An alternative flight or full refund if your flight is cancelled

If your flight is cancelled, you must be offered either:

• An alternative flight to your destination. You can choose to travel as soon as possible – the flight might be with a different airline if it can get you there quicker – or at a later date.
• A refund of your ticket. This includes any unused parts, so if your outbound flight was cancelled, your return ticket would also be refunded. 

The same rules apply if you booked a packaged holiday, though your travel agent must also offer to reschedule or refund the cost of the full package

Food and accommodation if your flight is delayed

If your flight is delayed by at least two hours for short-haul flights, three hours for medium-haul (flights of around three to five hours) or four hours for long-haul, your airline must provide you with vouchers for food and drink.

They must also provide accommodation and return transport if your flight is delayed to the next day. 

Compensation – though unlikely for strike action

You might also be able to claim up to £520 in compensation if your flight lands more than three hours late. However, this would only apply if it was the airline’s fault.

So strike action by their own staff should count but other strikes such as security staff wouldn’t – this is deemed as ‘extraordinary circumstances’. See the UK Civil Aviation Authorities (CAA) for full details.

You’re not covered if you miss your flight due to queues at security

Importantly, even if you arrive at the airport on time, your airline doesn’t have to help if you get stuck at security and miss your flight. However, if this does happen, it’s always worth contacting them to see what they can offer.

To help prevent this and give yourself a stress-free trip, arrive at the airport as early as possible and head straight through security as soon as you can – especially during the busy summer period.

Travel insurance kicks in if other parts of your holiday are affected

If problems with your flight impact the rest of your holiday – for example you're unable to use your hotel room or you miss a day of your holiday – you’d need to try and recover costs via travel insurance. 

Unfortunately, the level of cover varies between insurers, so the key rule is always ‘check your policy’. Though you won’t be able to claim if the strikes were announced before you booked or bought the policy. 

Look for ‘missed departure cover’ – it might be an added extra

When checking insurance policies, the easiest way is to find an online version of the full policy wording. You can then search for key terms such as ‘strike’ or ‘industrial action’ to see if it appears. If it doesn’t, make sure to read the exclusions list in full.

Even if a policy doesn’t include strike cover as standard, you may be able to pay extra to include it. This can also be called travel disruption or unexpected events cover, though it still wouldn’t cover you for strikes that were already planned.

How to make a claim if you’re disrupted by strike action

Insurers will expect you to try all other avenues before making a claim. For example, contacting the hotel to ask for a refund or to move your booking to a later date. 

If you can’t get your money back that way, try making a claim against your insurance. Most of the time you can do this online or by calling. You’ll usually need to provide booking confirmations or invoices, plus copies of communication you’ve already had with the airline or other vendor. If they accept your claim, remember you’ll usually have an excess amount deducted.

If you don’t have travel insurance – or your policy doesn’t cover strikes – and you paid on debit or credit card, you could try contacting your bank to ask for a refund under chargeback and section 75 rules. See How chargeback and section 75 protection works.