Negotiations with the pilots’ unions in final phase SAS is in the final negotiations with the Swedish pilot union SPF and the Norwegian pilot union NSF. SAS’ firm intention is to reach an agreement in the negotiations, but in case of a possible industrial action passengers will be mostly affected in Sweden from May 21. SAS has currently signed new Scandinavian collective bargain agreements with over half of the SAS pilots. Negotiations are now underway with the assistance of mediation with the Norwegian pilot union NSF and the Swedish pilot union SPF. Both unions have announced a strike from Thursday May 21 if no agreement is reached. SAS’ firm intention is to reach an agreement in the negotiations regarding new Scandinavian bargain agreements to avoid customers being affected by delays and cancelled flights, but cannot rule out that a strike may occur. – Our travelers will suffer at a conflict and I can only regret that we are now facing a situation threatening to affect many passengers in a negative way. Our ambition during the night is to continue the constructive negotiations and reach a joint solution which we have already done with more than half of the pilots. We have been responsive to the pilots’ demands and sought solutions that meet their needs for employment and career opportunities in SAS and that simultaneously allows SAS to cope with the fierce competition in the airline industry, says Rickard Gustafson President and, CEO of SAS. Expected traffic disruptionsIn order to avoid that travelers and co-workers become stranded during an eventual strike, SAS takes precautions and cancels about 110 flights tonight and tomorrow May 21. The majority of SAS’ Swedish domestic and international flights will be affected by a possible conflict on Thursday, May 21. There may be some traffic disruptions from Danish and Norwegian airports, both domestically and internationally. In total, around 25 percent of SAS flights are expected to be cancelled during an eventual strike. SAS will continually update its website with travel information and send updates via SMS and e-mail to the travelers. It will also be possible to follow developments via SAS channels in social media. For rules about rebooking and cancellation of flights, customers should contact SAS customer service or travel agencies where the ticket has been purchase.
