4 August 2026ONGOINGStrike outside the airline (ATC, airport, security staff)

Barcelona El Prat ground-handling strike: indefinite walkout since 4 August

WHAT'S HAPPENING

Around 1,179 Groundforce ground-handling staff began an indefinite strike at Barcelona–El Prat on 4 August 2026, in a dispute over staffing levels, overtime, rest periods and safety training.
Check-in, boarding, baggage and flight coordination are affected for airlines handled by Groundforce — including Air Europa, Lufthansa, Air France and KLM. Other carriers use different handlers and are largely unaffected.
Minimum-service rules keep roughly 35–80% of normal operations running depending on the route, so the impact varies day to day.
Disruption peaked around 11 August, when the strike coincided with storms across Europe and Barcelona saw the continent's largest concentration of delays and cancellations.

Sources: Generalitat de Catalunya — passenger rights notice · FTN News

WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOUR CLAIM

COMPENSATION: UNLIKELY — CARE STILL OWED

A strike by air traffic control, airport, or security staff is outside the airline's control and normally counts as an extraordinary circumstance, so compensation is usually not owed. Care and rerouting duties still apply in full — the airline must feed you, house you if necessary, and get you to your destination or refund you.

Basis: Recital 14, Regulation 261/2004

WHATEVER THE CAUSE, YOU'RE OWED

Meals and refreshments after 2–4 hours' wait (by flight distance), plus hotel and transfers if you are delayed overnight.
On cancellation: the choice between rerouting as soon as possible, rerouting at a later date, or a full refund within 7 days.
If the airline provides no care, keep receipts — reasonable expenses are reimbursable.
These duties apply even when the disruption itself is extraordinary.

CAUGHT IN THIS RIGHT NOW?

Open the Black Box and record what the airline tells you — especially the reason. The exact wording decides the extraordinary-circumstances question later.
Ask for rerouting in writing (app chat or email), and keep every receipt.
Once you know your final delay, check your flight and generate the letter.
Airline already replied with an excuse? Decode it.

This page explains the rules that generally apply to this type of disruption. Airlines assess each claim on its own facts; eligibility for a specific flight depends on its circumstances.