Flight Strike: What to Do When You Are Stuck at a Polish Airport

If your flight from a Polish airport has just been cancelled or seriously delayed because of a strike, the next few hours are about two separate things: being looked after while you wait, and not doing anything at the desk that weakens a later claim. This page is a short field manual — written for someone reading it on a phone at gate 24, not for someone studying EU air-passenger law on a Saturday afternoon. The detailed money question (do you actually get €250, €400 or €600?) can wait. The right to meals, a hotel and an active choice between rebooking and a refund applies regardless of who is on strike. Start there. Polish version of this guide: strajk lotniska — co robić .

The seven-step checklist for the next two hours

Work through this list calmly and in order. Each step is short, but the order matters — what you do at the desk shapes whether your written claim weeks later sticks or collapses.

1. Get the cancellation in writing. Demand confirmation in the airline app, by SMS or by email that the flight is cancelled or delayed — and, if possible, the reason. Screenshot it. A spoken notice at the desk vanishes the moment the queue moves; a screenshot stays.
2. Keep every booking document. Boarding pass, booking confirmation, the original email with the e-ticket. Throw nothing away. Photograph the departures board showing "Cancelled" or a long delay. Save every text and email from the carrier with the date and timestamp visible.
3. Choose actively between rebooking and a refund. For a cancelled flight you decide — not the desk agent. Rebooking onto a new departure at the earliest opportunity (including, if needed, on a competing airline) or a refund of the ticket. Decide what you want before you say yes to anything.
4. Claim meals and a hotel. If you have to wait, you are entitled to meals and refreshments; if you have to wait overnight, also a hotel and transport to and from it. Ask explicitly. If the airline refuses or offers nothing, go to step 7.
5. Refuse vouchers in place of money. A credit note is not cash compensation, it ties you to the same airline, and it usually has a short validity period. Do not sign anything that asks you to waive "any further claims".
6. Keep every receipt. If the airline ignores its duty of care and you buy your own meal or book your own hotel, keep the paper. These are recoverable costs — but only with proof.
7. Document the desk conversation. Note the name of the staff member, the time and what was offered. If you can record audio under Polish law (one-party consent applies), do so. These details swing borderline RPP complaints.

The big trap to flag once explicitly: if you take the refund, you give up the right to rebooking, and at that moment the duty of care on the spot ends. It can be the right call when the trip is no longer useful — for example a wedding that has already happened — but make the choice deliberately, not under pressure.

The three offers you should not accept

Strike days are chaotic for the airline too. Desk staff are under pressure to "resolve" each passenger as fast as possible. Most of what they offer is fine. Three things are worth pausing for.

A refund when you actually want to travel. If you accept the ticket money back, it counts in law as giving up the journey. The airline's obligation to look after you on the spot — meals, hotel, transport — can then end. If you still want to reach your destination, demand rebooking, not a refund. The full mechanics of refund versus rebooking after a cancellation are on our dedicated page on cancelled flight compensation .

A voucher instead of cash. Credit notes sound generous because the face value often looks higher than the ticket price. They are worth less in practice — usable only with the same carrier, often with a six- or twelve-month expiry, and forfeited entirely if you do not fly again in time. You have the right to a refund in real money under Article 8 EU 261, paid to the original payment method within seven days.

A form that "closes the case". Some carriers print a settlement waiver that looks like a rebooking acknowledgement. If you sign that you release the airline from "all further claims arising from this flight", you can extinguish the right to the €250–€600 fixed compensation without realising it. Always read what you sign. If the form is in a language you do not read fluently, refuse politely and ask for an emailed copy.

What you are entitled to while you wait — regardless of strike type

This is the single most important point on the page, because almost every strike triggers it. The duty of care under Article 9 of EU Regulation 261/2004 applies to every strike — even an ATC strike that pays zero fixed compensation. The airline must look after you while you wait:

• meals and refreshments in reasonable quantity, in proportion to the wait;
• two telephone calls, telex or fax messages, or emails;
• a hotel if you have to wait overnight, plus transport to and from it.

The Court of Justice spelled out the limits in McDonagh (C-12/11, 2013), the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic-ash case: the duty of care under Article 9 has no time limit and no financial cap, even in the most extreme extraordinary circumstance imaginable. A carrier that hides behind "force majeure" to leave passengers sleeping on terminal benches is in clear breach — and a Polish Sąd Rejonowy will say so.

If the airline gives you nothing on the spot, buy reasonable food and book a reasonable hotel yourself. Polish courts apply a sensible-cost standard: a sit-down dinner at the airport hotel is fine; a six-course tasting menu at the airport Hilton is not. Reclaim the costs by written demand later; if refused, add them to the lawsuit. More on the standard is in our companion page on the right to meals and a hotel during a flight delay .

When you are home: are you entitled to the €250–€600?

Once you are home or have arrived at your destination, it is time for the money question. The answer turns almost entirely on who was on strike.

The pivotal ruling on cabin-crew and pilot strikes is Krüsemann (C-195/17, 2018). The Court of Justice held that a "wildcat" strike by the carrier's own crew — even a spontaneous one in reaction to a restructuring announcement — is not an extraordinary circumstance. Managing labour relations is an inherent part of running an airline. The carrier therefore owes the fixed €250–€600 just as it would for a normal operational cancellation.

The same logic was already foreshadowed in Wallentin-Hermann (C-549/07, 2008), where the Court held that events tied to the normal operation of the airline cannot count as extraordinary. A flight crew dispute is part of normal operation; the carrier is not entitled to push the cost onto the passenger.

The opposite result applies when the strike is by air traffic control or airport staff. ATC sits with the public authority (in Poland, PAŻP); airport handling, security and immigration are run by airport companies and government agencies. The airline genuinely cannot prevent or solve those strikes, so they meet the "extraordinary" test. The fixed compensation falls away — but the duty of care does not. The carrier still owes you meals and a hotel.

A separate, narrower question: what if the cancellation happens because the crew is stuck on the wrong side of a strike-affected hub? Polish courts and the RPP increasingly treat this as a knock-on of an ordinary operational problem rather than a true extraordinary cause, especially if the airline had time to plan around the strike. For a full breakdown of the strike compensation rules, see our Polish-language strike compensation page .

The amounts, briefly

If the fixed compensation is owed under the Krüsemann logic above, the amount is set by distance only — not by ticket price.

Two Polish reference points. Warsaw (WAW) → London Heathrow (LHR) is roughly 1,460 km — the €250 band. Kraków (KRK) → Athens (ATH) at about 1,790 km falls into €400. The amount is the same whether your ticket cost €40 on a Wizz Air promotion or €700 in business class. The Court of Justice originally pegged the fixed-amount logic to long delays as well in Sturgeon (joined cases C-402/07 and C-432/07, 2009), so a strike that turns into a 3+ hour delay rather than a cancellation can also trigger the cash claim.

How to take a Polish strike claim forward

This is what you do once you are home, in three steps. Each step is free.

Step 1 — Written demand to the airline. A short letter or email, citing EU Regulation 261/2004 Article 5 (cancellation) or Article 6 (delay), Article 7 (amounts), Article 8 (refund or rebooking) and Article 9 (duty of care). Set a 14-day deadline. Include the booking reference, flight number, date, distance and the amount in euros. Attach the screenshots and receipts from the airport. Polish carriers (LOT, Enter Air) accept Polish; foreign carriers accept English.

Step 2 — Complaint to the Rzecznik Praw Pasażerów (RPP) at the ULC. If the airline rejects or stays silent for 30 days, file a free complaint with the Rzecznik Praw Pasażerów at the Urząd Lotnictwa Cywilnego via the official ULC online form . The RPP issues a non-binding opinion within roughly 90 days. The opinion carries weight in court and often persuades the airline to settle. Filing also interrupts the prescription clock.

Step 3 — Lawsuit at the Sąd Rejonowy. If the RPP opinion does not unlock the money, sue in the simplified procedure (postępowanie uproszczone) before the Sąd Rejonowy with jurisdiction over the airline's registered office or, under Rehder-style jurisdiction rules, the departure or arrival airport. The court fee for amounts up to PLN 2,000 is PLN 30, and PLN 100 for amounts up to roughly €600. Cases under €600 are normally handled on the papers, without a hearing. You have ten years from the date of the cancelled or delayed flight — the Polish prescription period from Article 118 of the Civil Code, confirmed for EU 261 claims by Cuadrench Moré (C-139/11, 2013).

If you would rather skip the paperwork, hand the case to a passenger-rights service. The service pursues the claim and takes a commission — typically 20–35% — only if it succeeds. If the claim fails, you pay nothing. You trade part of the payout for not having to handle the carrier, the RPP and possibly the Sąd Rejonowy yourself. Our breakdown of doing it yourself versus using a service walks through both routes side by side.

Check your strike claim with AirHelp — free, no win, no fee

This is an affiliate link — if your claim succeeds we may receive a fee, without changing your payout. If you prefer to do everything yourself, the three free steps above are the same path the service would take on your behalf.

This is not legal advice

This page is built from published Polish institutional sources and binding CJEU case law, but it is not a substitute for personalised legal advice on your specific facts. For a free administrative review of your case, contact the Rzecznik Praw Pasażerów at the Urząd Lotnictwa Cywilnego (ULC) — the supervisory authority for air passenger rights in Poland. For complex claims involving multiple carriers, package holidays or business losses, consult a Polish solicitor specialising in consumer or aviation law.

Sources and further reading

• EUR-Lex — Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (consolidated text)
• Rzecznik Praw Pasażerów at the ULC — Urząd Lotnictwa Cywilnego
• Court of Justice — Krüsemann (C-195/17, 2018)
• Court of Justice — Wallentin-Hermann (C-549/07, 2008)
• Court of Justice — McDonagh (C-12/11, 2013)
• Court of Justice — Cuadrench Moré (C-139/11, 2013)

Key takeaways

• The duty of care — meals, drinks, hotel and transport — applies in every strike, including ATC and airport strikes that pay no fixed compensation (McDonagh, C-12/11).
• Cabin-crew and pilot strikes by the airline's own staff are not extraordinary — the €250–€600 is owed (Krüsemann, C-195/17).
• ATC, airport security and immigration strikes are usually extraordinary — no fixed compensation, but rebooking, refund and care still apply.
• Always choose actively between rebooking and refund. Taking the refund ends the duty of care on the spot.
• Refuse vouchers and never sign a "closes the case" form at the desk.
• In Poland the path is: written demand → Rzecznik Praw Pasażerów at the ULC → Sąd Rejonowy in the simplified procedure.
• You have ten years under Article 118 of the Polish Civil Code to file the lawsuit (Cuadrench Moré, C-139/11).