In short: we know of 1 upcoming strike affecting flights in Portugal (see below). Most Portuguese flight strikes are by airline crews, such as easyJet’s Portugal-based cabin crew. When the airline’s own staff strike, passengers whose flights are cancelled at short notice or arrive 3+ hours late can usually claim €250–€600 (UK261: £220–£520). Strikes by handlers, airport or control staff usually give no compensation, but care and a refund or re-routing are always owed. Last checked: 10 November 2026.
Strikes in Portugal
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19 December 2026 – 23 December 2026
Lisbon, Porto, Faro
easyJet cabin crew based in Portugal (SNPVAC) announced
Approved by the crew’s general assembly together with the 2–6 October strike. Affects easyJet’s Portuguese bases. This is a strike by the airline’s own staff, so affected passengers may be entitled to compensation.
Airline’s own staff: compensation is usually due if your flight is cancelled at short notice or arrives 3+ hours late.
Sources: RTP / Lusa (17 Sep 2026), Dinheiro Vivo (Sep 2026), Pixidia (27 Oct 2026)
Recent and called-off strikes
- 21 October 2026 – 3 November 2026 – Azores: SATA Handling ground staff (Sintac, Sitava). Three-hour daily stoppages: 07:30–10:30 from 21 to 27 October and 16:00–19:00 from 28 October to 3 November (Azores time), which could disrupt SATA Air Açores and Azores Airlines flights. (aeroTELEGRAPH (18 Oct 2026))
- 2 October 2026 – 6 October 2026 – Lisbon, Porto, Faro: easyJet cabin crew based in Portugal (SNPVAC). Before the strike began the union said 443 easyJet flights from the three Portuguese bases had already been cancelled. A strike by the airline’s own staff, so affected passengers can usually claim compensation. (RTP (1 Oct 2026))
Who goes on strike in Portugal
Airline cabin crew and pilots
The cabin crew union SNPVAC (Sindicato Nacional do Pessoal de Voo da Aviação Civil) represents crew at several airlines, including easyJet’s Portuguese bases and the national carrier TAP. easyJet’s Portugal-based cabin crew voted in September 2026 to strike on 2–6 October and 19–23 December 2026, saying their working conditions keep getting worse. Before the October strike started, the union said 443 flights from Lisbon, Porto and Faro had already been cancelled; easyJet’s own estimate of the impact was considerably lower.
For you as a passenger, this is the most important kind of strike in Portugal: the strikers work for the airline, so the airline cannot rely on extraordinary circumstances.
Ground handling staff
Ground handlers load baggage, check passengers in and dispatch aircraft. In the Azores, SATA Handling staff held daily three-hour stoppages from 21 October to 3 November 2026, which could disrupt SATA Air Açores and Azores Airlines flights. Handling strikes at the mainland airports have also occurred in past years.
Air traffic control and border staff
Air traffic control in Portugal is provided by NAV Portugal; we found no controllers’ strike announced for the coming months. Long queues at an airport – for example at passport control – can make you miss a flight, but they are not normally the airline’s responsibility, so EU261 rarely helps in that case.
Notice and minimum services
Portuguese labour law treats air transport and airports as essential services. That has two consequences for strikes:
- Longer notice. In essential services, unions must give notice well in advance – 10 working days instead of the usual 5. Strikes affecting flights are therefore usually public two weeks or more before they start. Notices are filed with DGERT, the labour relations directorate.
- Minimum services. A minimum service must be maintained during the strike. It is agreed between union and employer or, if they cannot agree, decided by the authorities or by an arbitration panel. They are designed to keep essential connections and emergency flights going, not to protect every holiday flight.
Strikes are often suspended after last-minute agreements, so check your airline’s notices close to departure.
Your rights during a Portuguese strike
Flights from Portugal are covered by EU261 whatever the airline. Flights from the UK to Portugal are covered by UK261, and flights from Portugal to the UK by EU261. Both use the same rules on strikes.
| Who is on strike | Compensation | Care and refund or re-routing |
|---|---|---|
| The airline’s own cabin crew or pilots (e.g. easyJet crew) | Usually due: €250 / €400 / €600 (UK261: £220 / £350 / £520) | Always owed |
| Ground handlers working for many airlines | Usually not due | Always owed |
| Air traffic control, airport or border staff | Usually not due – extraordinary circumstance | Always owed |
| General strike | Usually not due | Always owed |
The Court of Justice of the EU held in C-28/20 (Airhelp v SAS, 2021) that a strike called by a union of the airline’s own staff is “inherent in the normal exercise” of the airline’s activity, even if it was announced in advance. The European Commission’s Your Europe page lists “strikes by air carrier staff” among the events that are not extraordinary. For the full picture see strikes and extraordinary circumstances.
Two limits apply to compensation: you get nothing if the airline told you of the cancellation at least 14 days before departure, and the amount can be halved if the airline re-routes you and you arrive only slightly late. Care, and the choice between a refund and re-routing, apply whatever the reason for the cancellation.
What to do if your flight is affected
- If your flight falls on a strike day listed above, watch for e-mails and texts from your airline and check your booking regularly.
- If the flight is cancelled, choose a refund or re-routing. You can ask to be re-routed on another airline if easyJet has nothing suitable.
- Keep the cancellation notice and every receipt for meals, hotels and transport.
- Claim compensation if the cancellation came less than 14 days before departure – directly with easyJet, or with help.
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Strike days at Portugal’s airports since 2024
EUROCONTROL attributes every arrival flow restriction to a cause. These are the days on which restrictions at Portugal’s airports were put down to industrial action, from January 2024 to 30 September 2026 – 1 in 2025, 2 in 2026.
| Date | ATC strike delay (min) | Other strike delay (min) | Airports |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 June 2026 | 1,944 | – | FAO |
| 2 June 2026 | 60 | – | OPO |
| 11 December 2025 | – | 41 | FAO |
Only restrictions on arriving flights at the airports themselves are counted; strikes by air traffic controllers elsewhere (for example in France, affecting overflights) and by airline staff do not appear here. A strike by air traffic controllers or airport staff is usually an extraordinary circumstance; a strike by the airline’s own staff is not. Source: EUROCONTROL. Check a specific day: delay cause checker.
Frequently asked questions
Will the easyJet strike in Portugal give me compensation?
Usually yes. The strike is by easyJet’s own cabin crew, and the Court of Justice of the EU has ruled that a strike by an airline’s own staff is not an extraordinary circumstance (C-28/20). If your flight is cancelled less than 14 days before departure, or arrives 3 or more hours late, you can usually claim €250–€600 – or £220–£520 if UK261 applies.
easyJet told me about the cancellation more than two weeks in advance. Can I still claim?
No compensation is due if you were told at least 14 days before departure. You are still entitled to a refund or a replacement flight.
Which Portuguese airports are affected by the easyJet crew strike?
The strike involves cabin crew based at easyJet’s Portuguese bases in Lisbon, Porto and Faro. Flights operated by crew from other bases – for example UK-based crew flying into Faro – are not directly involved, but can be affected if aircraft or crew are out of position.
Do strikes in Portugal have minimum services?
Yes. Air transport is treated as an essential service, so unions must give longer notice and minimum services must be guaranteed. They are agreed with the employer or, failing agreement, set by the authorities.
Strike dates are taken from union announcements, official notices and press reports; each entry lists its sources. Strikes are often suspended at short notice – always check with your airline. Last checked: 10 November 2026. General information, not legal advice.
Sources
- Tripulantes da easyJet em greve de 2 a 6 de outubro e de 19 a 23 de dezembro (17 September 2026) – RTP / Lusa
- Greve dos tripulantes da easyJet deverá afetar pelo menos 443 voos (1 October 2026) – RTP
- Greve na easyJet com total adesão e cancelamentos podem chegar a 90% (3 October 2026) – DNoticias
- Streik bei Abfertigung trifft Azores Airlines und Sata Air Açores (18 October 2026) – aeroTELEGRAPH
- Strike notices (avisos prévios de greve) – DGERT (Portuguese labour relations directorate)
- Judgment C-28/20 Airhelp v SAS (23 March 2021) – Court of Justice of the EU
- Air passenger rights – internal strikes are not extraordinary – Your Europe (European Commission)
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 – full text – EUR-Lex
We check every rule against the sources above. Spotted an error? Tell us – see our editorial policy.