ANSWER · UK 261 AND EC 261
Can the airline bump me from a rescheduled flight after a strike?
Not without paying. The Court of Justice held on 4 October 2012 in Finnair v Lassooy that denied boarding under Art. 2(j) covers refusals for operational reasons, not just overbooking, and that a strike affecting an earlier flight cannot justify denying boarding on later ones. The passenger bumped two days after the strike kept his Art. 4(3) compensation, 400 euro on that route.
REVIEWED AGAINST RULE SET V6 AND THE CITED PRIMARY SOURCES · UPDATED 7 AUGUST 2026
Denied boarding is wider than overbooking
Art. 2(j) covers any refusal to carry a passenger who presented for boarding on time with a confirmed reservation, unless there are reasonable grounds attributable to the passenger, such as health, safety, security or inadequate travel documents. Reallocating your seat to a passenger stranded days earlier is not attributable to you.
Why the strike did not save the airline
Extraordinary circumstances attach to a particular aircraft on a particular day. The Court held the airline was not constrained by the strike to deny boarding two days later, so the Art. 4(3) compensation applied in full, and the airline's remedy under Art. 13 is against whoever caused the disruption.
What involuntary denied boarding triggers
Immediate compensation by distance band, the Art. 8 choice of refund or rerouting, and Art. 9 care. It is the one disruption with no extraordinary circumstances defence at all.
THE JUDGMENTS BEHIND THIS ANSWER
SOURCES
- Case C-22/11 Finnair v Lassooy, judgment of 4 October 2012 · EUR-Lex · checked 7 August 2026
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Art. 2(j) · EUR-Lex · checked 7 August 2026
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Art. 4(3) · EUR-Lex · checked 7 August 2026
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