easyJet Portugal Strike Cancels 443 Flights: Your Refund Rights

easyJet's Portuguese cabin crew walked off the job on October 2, 2026, and by the time the five-day strike began, the airline had already cancelled 443 flights from its Lisbon, Porto, and Faro bases — roughly 80% of the schedule operated by striking crews, according to the National Union of Civil Aviation Flight Personnel (SNPVAC). A second five-day strike has been formally noticed for December 19–23, landing squarely in the pre-Christmas travel rush1314. For the tens of thousands of passengers caught in between, the disruption is more than an inconvenience: it triggers one of the clearest compensation obligations in European air passenger law.

What happened and how bad it got

The October walkout, timed to Portugal's Republic Day long weekend with the October 5 national holiday falling on a Monday, hit easyJet's entire Portuguese cabin crew base1215. SNPVAC leader Ana Dias said the 443 cancellations covered the full five-day window, though the union acknowledged additional scheduled flights could still be disrupted.

The airline's own account is more granular: easyJet said it expected to operate about 55% of its scheduled flights during the strike, with minimum services mandated by the Portuguese authorities accounting for roughly 22% of Portugal-based operations, and the remainder flown by aircraft and crews ferried in from other European bases13. The airline insisted the arrangement was "in full compliance with applicable legislation and regulations".

That gap — 443 cancelled flights versus the union's pre-strike estimate of roughly 500 at risk — is explained by exactly those minimum-service requirements imposed by DGERT, Portugal's labour authority, which forced a floor of essential flights to keep operating1514.

The blast radius extended well beyond Portugal. UK airports including Gatwick, Luton, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Belfast, Newcastle, and Southend all serve easyJet routes to Lisbon, Porto, and Faro112. easyJet confirmed before the strike began that it had pre-emptively cancelled flights from Manchester and Southend, saying affected customers were contacted directly and offered a free transfer or a refund59.

Why the crew are striking

The dispute is a classic pay-and-conditions fight with a sharp national dimension. SNPVAC's demands centre on schedule stability, pay progression tied to seniority, and terms still under negotiation for a new enterprise agreement13. The union also alleges that easyJet has breached the collective labour agreement in Portugal and that Portuguese-based crew are paid less than easyJet colleagues doing identical jobs in the UK, France, and Germany — as well as less than workers at other airlines operating in Portugal1211.

The strike was authorised at an emergency general assembly of 188 Portuguese-based cabin crew, with unanimous backing for industrial action11.

Beneath the pay argument sits a more contentious one: SNPVAC accuses easyJet of repeatedly neutralising previous walkouts by importing non-striking staff from other countries to operate flights that would otherwise be grounded — an allegation the union says effectively erodes the right to strike and which it has threatened to take to court1213. During the October action, the union specifically claimed French crews had arrived in Porto to fly in place of striking workers. That helps explain why the union escalated to two long, five-day strikes rather than shorter stoppages that could be staffed around.

easyJet's public posture is diplomatic but firm. A spokesperson said the airline was "extremely disappointed that SNPVAC is planning strike actions despite our willingness to continue a constructive dialogue," and framed the advance cancellations as a favour to customers, letting them rearrange travel plans early129.

The passenger rights angle: why this strike is different

Here is the part that matters most to anyone who lost a flight. Under EC 261/2004 and its UK successor, UK261, airlines escape fixed cash compensation when disruption stems from "extraordinary circumstances" — weather, air traffic control strikes, third-party walkouts. But a strike by the airline's own directly employed cabin crew is not one of those. The European Court of Justice settled this in the 2018 Krüsemann ruling (Case C-195/17), which confirmed that an airline staff strike falls within the carrier's own sphere of control152.

That means passengers whose easyJet Portugal flights were cancelled between October 2 and 6 — or delayed three hours or more on arrival at their final destination — are generally owed fixed cash compensation on top of any refund119.

The amounts are set by route distance, not ticket price. UK–Portugal flights are short sectors, which pulls them into the lowest band in some reporting: £220 (€250) per passenger for journeys under 1,500 km19. Other outlets peg most UK–Portugal easyJet routes at the €400/£350 band, citing distances such as Gatwick–Lisbon at roughly 1,800 km and Manchester–Faro around 1,700 km312. The divergence comes down to how each source measures the sector; the practical takeaway is that affected passengers should expect somewhere between €250 and €400 per person, with €600 the ceiling only on long-haul distance bands. AirHelp summarises it as "up to €600" depending on route116.

One important nuance: the regulation allows airlines to halve compensation if they rebook the passenger and the replacement flight arrives within a short window of the original schedule. And if the airline notified the passenger of the cancellation at least 14 days before departure, the fixed payout may not be owed at all — though the refund or rebooking right survives regardless23. For the October strike, AirHelp noted that all five strike dates had passed the point at which new cancellations could be issued with 14 days' notice, meaning most strike cancellations would generally owe compensation, not just a refund2.

Separately from compensation, cancelled passengers choose between a full cash refund to their original payment method — processed within seven days per easyJet's stated policy and the statutory requirement — or free rebooking, with meals, hotel accommodation, and transport reimbursable for overnight strandings710. easyJet also offers vouchers valid for 12 months as an alternative, though passengers are under no obligation to accept one in place of cash7.

Where reporting diverges — and what it means

The sources largely agree on the facts: 443 cancellations, a 55% operating schedule, minimum services around 22%, a December follow-up strike, and compensation eligibility. Where they diverge is tone and risk framing. Union-adjacent and Portuguese coverage emphasises the alleged illegality of easyJet's cross-base crew substitution and the pay inequality grievances. UK regional press, meanwhile, frames the story almost entirely around money — with AirHelp repeatedly cited as saying affected passengers could claim up to £520 per person, and Manchester Echo reporting potential entitlements up to £350 for the UK–Portugal distance band89.

The travel-trade press adds a useful strategic warning for passengers whose flights were not yet cancelled: rebooking yourself before easyJet acts may forfeit the compensation claim, since the airline never technically cancelled your flight. The safest route to full rights is to let the airline make the first move3.

December looms

The unresolved question is whether the pattern repeats before Christmas. The December 19–23 strike is officially noticed, but its operational impact is unknown until closer to the date1417. If no collective agreement is reached, the same compensation logic applies — a strike by easyJet's own staff cannot be waved away as extraordinary circumstances, and Christmas-week passengers would carry identical rights to those disrupted in October3.

For a carrier that reported £3.95 billion in first-half revenue, absorbing the cost of a strike is survivable; for the passengers swept up in a Republic Day weekend that turned into a five-day test of European consumer law, the payout — and the paper trail to get it — is the part worth getting right1615.