Language of document :

Request for a preliminary ruling from the Audiencia Provincial de Pontevedra (Spain) lodged on 13 November 2019 — D.A.T.A and Others v Ryanair D.A.C.

(Case C-827/19)

Language of the case: Spanish

Referring court

Audiencia Provincial de Pontevedra

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicants: D.A.T.A., L.F.A., A.M.A.G., L.F.A., J.G.C., S.C.C., A.C.V., A.A.G., A.C.A., L.C.A., N.P.B., P.C.A.

Defendant: Ryanair D.A.C.

Questions referred

Can the exercise of the right to strike by airline staff be regarded as an ‘extraordinary circumstance’ within the meaning of Article 5(3) of Regulation 261/20[0]4 1 where the strike is called by a trade union in pursuit of improvements to employment conditions and is not triggered by a prior decision of the employer but by the employees’ demands, or is it a circumstance inherent in the normal exercise of an air carrier’s activity?

In circumstances such as those at issue in these proceedings, even where the carrier has been given the advance notice of the strike required by law, is the carrier required to adopt some legally permissible measure, such as offering flights with other airlines unaffected by the strike, for example?

For the purposes of considering whether a strike by the airline’s cabin staff is an ‘extraordinary circumstance’ within the meaning of Article 5(3) of Regulation 261/20[0]4, is the way in which the strike is called off relevant, particularly where it is called off as the result of reciprocal concessions made by the parties to the dispute?

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1 Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights, and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 295/91 (OJ 2004 L 46, p. 1).