Check compensationCheck

French ATC strikes: why your UK–Spain flight is affected, and your rights

UK flights to Spain, Portugal and Italy often cross France, so French ATC strikes hit them too. What you are owed: care, re-routing, and when compensation.

By the EU261 Flight Delay editorial team Last reviewed: Reading time: 7 min How we write our guides

Check compensation or start a claim with AirHelp straight away

In short: many flights between the UK or Ireland and Spain, Portugal, Italy or North Africa cross French airspace, so a strike by French air traffic controllers can delay or cancel them even though they never land in France. A strike by air traffic controllers is generally treated as an extraordinary circumstance, so fixed compensation (£220–£520 / €250–€600) is often not due. But the airline must still provide care – meals, calls, a hotel if needed – and offer re-routing or a refund if it cancels. And “ATC strike” is not a blanket excuse: the airline must show the strike actually caused your delay and that it took reasonable measures.

“French air traffic control strike” is one of the most searched disruption terms in the UK in strike seasons, alongside “Spain airport strike”. Here is what is going on, and what it means for your rights.

Why a French strike hits a flight from Manchester to Malaga

Look at a map: the direct route from most UK and Irish airports to Spain’s Mediterranean coast, the Balearics, Portugal’s Algarve or Italy passes over France. When French controllers strike, the French authorities reduce the number of flights that can enter their airspace. Airlines then have three choices: fly around France (longer routes, more fuel, tighter crew hours), accept long delays waiting for a slot, or cancel.

These “overflights” are a long-running point of contention. Ryanair, for example, publicly called on the European Commission in June 2024 to require France to protect overflights during ATC strikes – as, it said, Greece, Italy and Spain do – and to let other European controllers handle flights over France during strikes. As of November 2026 we are not aware of any EU rule that protects overflights.

What changed in France in 2023

A French law of 28 December 2023 (Law No 2023-1289) introduced an obligation for air navigation service staff whose absence directly affects flights – including air traffic controllers – to declare whether they will strike. According to the French Ministry for the Ecological Transition, they must declare by noon two days before each strike day. The aim is to let the authorities and airlines plan schedule reductions more accurately, which should mean earlier cancellations and fewer passengers stranded at the airport. It does not remove the right to strike, and it does not create a right to fly over France.

For dates of announced strikes, see our strike calendar for France and the wider strike calendar.

Compensation: usually not, but check

An air traffic control strike is a strike by people who do not work for the airline. The UK Civil Aviation Authority lists strikes by air traffic control staff as a likely extraordinary circumstance; Your Europe lists air traffic management decisions among extraordinary circumstances. So, for a delay or cancellation genuinely caused by a French ATC strike, the airline will usually not owe fixed compensation.

But the airline must prove two things (Article 5(3), and Article 6(4) for delays under UK261):

  1. that the strike caused your flight’s delay or cancellation; and
  2. that the disruption could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.

Situations worth questioning:

  • Your flight did not cross France (for example, a domestic UK flight or a route that does not touch French airspace), yet the airline blames the French strike.
  • The delay was caused by something else – a technical fault or a missing crew member – and the strike is a convenient label. Note what staff and the captain say (why was my flight delayed).
  • A knock-on delay on a later day, or a later flight in the day with a different cause, attributed to a strike that had already ended. See knock-on delays.
  • No reasonable measures: if strike reductions were announced days in advance and the airline did nothing to re-route or re-plan, ask what it did.

Strikes by the airline’s own staff are a different matter: Your Europe lists internal strike action as not extraordinary, in line with the Court of Justice’s ruling in Airhelp v SAS (C-28/20) on a pilots’ strike. See strike compensation and strikes as extraordinary circumstances.

What you are owed even when compensation is not due

Situation Your rights (UK261 / EU261)
Departure delayed 2h (under 1,500 km), 3h (1,500–3,500 km), 4h (over 3,500 km) Meals and refreshments, two calls or e-mails
New departure the next day Hotel and transport to it
Delay of 5 hours or more Option to abandon the trip and get a refund within 7 days, plus a flight back if relevant
Flight cancelled Choice of refund within 7 days, re-routing at the earliest opportunity, or re-routing at a later date of your choice; care while you wait

UK–Spain distances mostly fall in the 1,500–3,500 km band (for example London–Malaga or Manchester–Alicante), so care starts at a 3-hour delay; shorter routes such as London–Bilbao are under 1,500 km, where care starts at 2 hours. Our flight distance calculator shows your band.

Care has no time or money limit, and is owed even in extraordinary circumstances – the Court of Justice confirmed this in McDonagh v Ryanair (C-12/11). If the airline does not provide it, buy what is reasonable and keep receipts (meal vouchers, overnight hotel rights).

If your flight is cancelled because of a French ATC strike

  • Choose re-routing or a refund. If you still want to travel, ask for the earliest alternative – the CAA notes this may be with another airline or by other transport.
  • Don’t accept a voucher unless you want one (vouchers instead of cash).
  • If the airline will not re-route you, keep written evidence of what you asked for and what it offered before you book anything yourself.
  • Package holiday? Contact the tour operator, which has its own duties (package holiday flight delays).
  • Travel insurance may pay a delay benefit even when the airline owes no compensation (travel insurance vs compensation).

Before you fly in strike season

  • Check the France strike calendar and the Spain strike calendar a few days before departure.
  • Make sure the airline has your mobile number and e-mail, so cancellation notices reach you.
  • Keep essentials (medication, chargers, a change of clothes) in your cabin bag in case of an overnight delay.

Which airlines are most affected?

Any airline whose routes cross France can be affected, which on UK–Spain, UK–Portugal and UK–Italy routes includes Ryanair, easyJet, Jet2, British Airways and Vueling. Read our article on air traffic control delays for more on ATC-related claims, and if you are unsure, run your flight through our checker.

Sources

More articles