A Scandinavian airline strike that stranded 380,000 passengers, cancelling thousands of flights, has finally ended.
Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) – the flagship carrier of Denmark, Norway and Sweden – said yesterday it had reached an agreement with pilots’ unions Svensk Pilotförening (SPF), Norsk Flygerforbund (NSF/NF), SAS Norge Pilotforening (SNF) and Dansk Pilotforening (DPF).
In its statement, the airline said: “[t]he parties have agreed on new collective bargaining agreements and all flights in Denmark, Norway and Sweden will be resumed as soon as possible.”
After six days of its airline strike, approximately 360,000 passengers had been affected by 4,015 canceled flights, while SAS’ other employees had “worked around the clock”.
SAS said it was too early to provide an estimate of the financial effects.
The airline reportedly flies to 123 destinations around the world, with 800 flights per day. Deutsche Welle said the workers’ action was estimated to have cost the airline 60 to 80 million Swedish krona ($8.9 million to $11.9 million) per day.
Deutsche Welle reported pilots had been seeking a 13 per cent wage increase to make up for massive pay cuts that came in 2012, when SAS had been close to bankruptcy.
Executives at the airline reportedly said such a pay rise could seriously damage the company’s competitiveness.
SAS wrote in its statement that agreements between the airline and the pilots’ unions concerned predictability of scheduling and job security, as well as salaries.
“It is with relief I now conclude that our customers soon will be flying again and that we will be able to pursue our commitment to travelers to, from and within Scandinavia,” SAS chief executive and president Rickard Gustafson said.
Following the pilot strike that started on Friday 26 April, the parties in all countries have now reached three-year agreements and the strike has been called off.
“I want to express my sincere gratitude to all those SAS employees who have worked day and night to help our customers in this difficult situation,” Gustafson said.
