My coworker had a flight scheduled for this afternoon from Brussels to Dublin using Ryanair. However, Aviapartner, one of the 2 companies in charge of ground activities like baggage handling, moving planes away from the gate, refueling etc, is on strike today and Ryanair canceled his flight.
Normally, since this is an EU flight that's been canceled, my coworker could demand refund and compensation from the carrier. However, Ryanair is a notorious stickler for refunds etc. In addition, it's not Ryanair themselves that are on strike, but a 3rd party partner. Does this mean that Ryanair can call in "force majeure"? Or are they still required to provide a refund and/or compensation?