Thousands of SAS passengers are stranded today due to a Scandinavian pilot strike affecting domestic, European and long-haul flights. A total of 673 flights were cancelled today, affecting more than 72,000 passengers.
The strike was launched by members of the Swedish pilot union (Svensk Pilotförening, SPF) in SAS Scandinavia. Negotiations started in March. However, no agreement has been reached between the pilots and the airline. Today, the strike expanded as pilot unions in Denmark and Norway joined in the action.
More than 670 SAS flights were cancelled on April 26, 2019. (Copyright photo courtesy of SAS)
“It is deeply regretful that the pilots strike will have a negative impact on our customers. SAS is prepared to continue to negotiate, but if the requirements were to be met, they would have very negative consequences for the company. Nonetheless, the pilot associations have chosen conflict. Our first priority now is to take care of our passengers and at this moment in time, all SAS employees are doing everything they can to help customers affected,” says Karin Nyman, Director of Communications at SAS.
Flights operated by SAS Ireland and airlines that are subcontractors of SAS will not be affected by the strike. Those flights make up about 30% of the departures.
What Should Passengers Do?
The airline is advising customers to check the status of their flight before heading to the airport.
SAS said it will send SMS and email updates to affected passengers. Information on the traffic disruptions will be updated continuously. Visit www.flysas.com/en/disruptions for the latest updates.
