Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) is canceling up to 50 percent of its scheduled flights because of a pilot strike, reports said Tuesday.
If an agreement cannot be reached with the pilots' unions, about 30,000 passengers per day on internal and international flights in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark will be affected.
A total of 900 pilots will be laid off in Scandinavia, with as many as 500 of them in Norway.
During the pandemic, about 500 pilots lost their jobs. SAS established two new businesses that will assume responsibility for aircraft and hire new pilots.
It is unclear which SAS flights will be canceled, however affected passengers will be notified through SMS.
Furthermore, it is quite unclear how long the strike will persist, as mediation efforts appear likely to continue.
Flights operated by SAS Link and SAS Connect, two relatively new businesses, are unaffected. Flights operated by Air Baltic, CityJet, and XFLY on a "wet lease" arrangement are similarly unaffected.
In a statement confirming the strike, SAS described the pilots unions' action as "reckless" and a threat to the company's survival.
The CEO of SAS, Anko van der Werff, stated that the unions have a "shockingly inadequate awareness of SAS's serious predicament."
SAS has based its survival chances on a thorough reorganization strategy after being severely impacted by the pandemic.
The strategy, named SAS Forward, aims for significant cost reductions, the revision of collective agreements, the conversion of debt into shares, and the raising of additional capital.
The possibility of a strike had been on the table for nearly a month, with extensive negotiations and repeated extensions of mediation efforts.
Nonetheless, the parties were unable to reach a consensus. SAS announced that it desires to continue mediation and quickly achieve an agreement to stop the strike.
The argument is not over compensation, but rather the creation of two staffing firms as part of a company reorganization.
Pilots laid off during the outbreak have protested that SAS is bypassing its commitments to rehire previously laid-off pilots by taking this action.
According to pilots' unions, pilots have agreed to cost-cutting measures of up to 25 percent, but seek assurances that their members will be given priority for positions with the new SAS Link and SAS Connect subsidiary.
SMS will be used to reach concerned clients, according to the airline. There is also a flight status website, which may already indicate whether or not your flight will be canceled.
