SAS cancels 1,200 more flights today and Tuesday as pilot strike continues
Scandinavian airline SAS has cancelled more than 1,200 flights for today and Tuesday as part of an ongoing pilot strike, which began on Friday.
Seventy per cent of the airline’s flights were grounded on day one of the strike after wage talks broke down, disrupting the travel plans of at least 70,000 passengers.
By the end of day three, Sunday, an estimated 170,000 passengers had been affected.
The industrial action has hit domestic, European and long-haul routes.
The airline issued a statement to say: "Due to the ongoing dispute, further cancellations are now being made on Monday and Tuesday.
"The strike will affect an additional 61,000 passengers on Monday when 667 flights are cancelled across Scandinavia. On Tuesday 49,000 passengers and 546 departures will be affected."
The carrier, part-owned by the Swedish and Danish governments, said it is prepared to resume negotiations but warned it would be unlikely to meet pilots’ demands.
It said it wants to ‘reach an agreement to end the strike as soon as possible’, but warned if the pilots’ requirements were met it would have ‘very negative consequences’ for the airline.
Pilots are trying to secure a 13% wage increase. They currently earn an average of 93,000 Swedish crowns (£7,500) a month.
The SAS Pilot Group represents 95% of the airline’s pilots in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. It said the strike is not just over pay, but also working hours and conditions.
Flights operated by SAS Ireland and airlines that are subcontractors of SAS are not affected.
Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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