SAS Strike Leaves Thousands Stranded

Scandinavian airlines has canceled most of its flights amid a pilots strike, leaving thousands of passengers around the globe in the lurch.

More than 1,200 flights were scrapped for Monday and Tuesday, airline-sas-cancels-1200-more-flights-as-pilot-strike-drags-on-idUSKCN1S409Z” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow noopener noreferrer”>Reuters reported. That’s around 70 percent of the airline’s flights, which impacted about 280,000 passengers.

This is the fourth day of the strike, which erupted when wage talks broke down Friday.

Neither SAS nor unions in Sweden, Denmark and Norway have contacted the other side, and no new talks are scheduled, SAS and the unions said.

“We deeply regret that our customers are affected by the ongoing pilot strike when SAS now cancels flights on Monday and Tuesday,” the airline said in a statement.

According to a press release issued by the airline domestic, European and long-haul flights have been canceled. Flights operated by SAS Ireland and airlines that are subcontractors of SAS will not be affected by the strike.

“The strike follows lack of success in reaching an agreement between the parties,” the airline said. “Negotiations have been held in all three countries since March and with the support of external mediators in the final stages.”

The carrier, which was created after World War 2 and remains part-owned by the Swedish and Danish governments, said in its statement that it is prepared to return to negotiations but added that agreeing to pilots’ demands would seriously damage the company.

Reuters reported that pilots are seeking a 13 percent wage hike. SAS pilots earn an average wage of about 93,000 Swedish crowns ($9,777) a month. Pilots are also calling for more predictable working hours, as well as higher wages.

The International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA) issued a statement expressing its solidarity with the SAS pilot group.

“The strike could have been avoided if SAS management had shown more willingness to engage in good faith negotiations. It is unfortunate that just before the start of the negotiations, SAS management suddenly chose to end all existing agreements with the pilots on cooperation, production, career development, and seniority systems,” says the IFALPA statement.

The statement adds that IFALPA believes that neither SAS pilots, nor any other pilot group, should accept “deteriorating working conditions, unpredictable hours, and a lack of job security.”

In total, 667 flights were canceled Monday, impacting around 61,000 travelers. An additional 49,000 travelers will be affected on Tuesday, when 546 flights are grounded, Reuters reported.

SAS Chief Executive Rickard Gustafson took to Twitter on Friday to issue his own statement about the crisis.

“Despite intensive negotiations and a determination to avoid conflict we have regrettably been unsuccessful. The pilots’ unions have today decided to go on strike. I regret this deeply,” he said.

Customers are being urged to check the status of their flight before traveling. The airline has said it will rearrange travel plans free of charge or provide a complete refund.

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