110,000 affected by SAS pilot strike in Scandinavia
SAS warns that a total of 1,213 flights have been cancelled on Monday and Tuesday as a result of the pilot strike. Shy of 110,000 passengers will be affected.
64,000 passengers are affected by 587 scheduled SAS departures on Sunday. This is due to the fact that around 1,500 pilots in the Scandinavian airline are on strike.
SAS reports that 667 flights on Monday and 546 flights on Tuesday will be cancelled as a result of the strike. In total, just under 110,000 passengers all across the Nordic countries will be affected by the cancellations on those days.
According to figures from SAS, a total of 170,000 passengers have been hit by the strike over the weekend.
Regrets to SAS passengers
Information Manager of SAS, Knut Morten Johansen, emphasises to NTB that the airline is working at flat out to find alternatives for the affected passengers.
“We have great sympathy for the passengers and are profoundly regretful,” he states.
The information Manager further states that 282 flights are on schedule on Sunday. Earlier this weekend, the airline reported that some passengers missed their trip because they believed that all SAS departures were cancelled.
Undermines the future of SAS
Director of NHO Aviation, Torbjørn Lothe informs NTB that there is little to be communicated when it comes to contact between the parties. NHO Aviation represents the employers’ side in the conflict with the SAS pilots,
Lothe goes on to say that the conflict must be resolved quickly to avoid SAS losing so much money that it will undermine the future of the company.
Danish Sydbank has calculated that the cost of the strike to the airliner is between NOK 54 and 73 million per day.
“If SAS does not ferry these passengers, competitors will take over; the workplaces will thus disappear,” Lothe tells NTB.
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Many days off
One of the main requirements of the SAS pilots is increased predictability in their work schedule. Additionally, their salary is a theme.
“The pilots must be reality oriented. Many other occupational groups, such as nurses, work at inconvenient times under significantly poorer conditions,” Lothe explains.
He also says that a pilot working in the variable working group has more days off than working days; with a maximum of 179 working days a year.
“That constitutes over half a year of days off. However, we understand that the pilots want clearer plans presented. The reality is, however, that many Norwegians want to travel by plane at inconvenient times,” Lothe elaborates.
False statements
Union Leader of the SAS pilots in Parat, Jan Levi Skogvang, writes in an email to E24 that statements and allegations from Lothe in several areas have been incorrect. Skogvang shows, among other things, to the NHO director’s statements regarding flight time and lower productivity in the company.
“The airliner and NHO should help resolve the conflict and not make false statements that contribute to prolonging this conflict,” he writes.
Skogvang has not answered inquiries by NTB today.
Information for passengers regarding the disruptions.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
