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Flights Are Getting Canceled Amid Pilot Strike

Passengers expecting to fly on Scandinavian Airlines are now being greeted with an unpleasant surprise as almost all flights are getting canceled due to a strike by the airline’s pilots. About 1,400 pilots in total are striking because they allege they can’t maintain proper work and life balance.

Expecting to fly Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) this weekend? You’d better double-check your flights. About 1,400 pilots with the airline have staged a walkout, striking over what they say are unfair conditions related to pay and shift changes. Passengers are being notified in advance about changes to their flights as the strike continues.

“First and foremost, we apologize,” SAS information chief Knut Morten Johansen said, reported by The Independent. “Now, fortunately, we have done a good job in advance to reduce the scope. We made a solid move yesterday by pre-canceling so that there was more predictability today. I think we have a less chaotic situation at the airports than would otherwise have been the case.”

A large portion of domestic and European flights have been canceled, as well as all long-haul flights. About 70,000 passengers are affected, with the total canceled flights hitting 673, plus widespread delays. CityJet flights are not impacted.

“We entered these mediations with the requirement to get virtually the same agreement as our competitors in Norwegian, Ryanair or easyJet,” Christian Laulund of the Norwegian SAS Pilots Association (NSF) said in a statement reported by The Independent. “This is about how a pilot can plan his life and ensure predictability so that one can have a private life that works with the job.”

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3 Comments
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skidooman April 29, 2019

@j2simpso I think this is understood, even if the guy wasn't explicity about it. They "pre-canceled" so they had plenty of time to provide the affected passengers alternative flights, most of the time on other carriers, whenever possible. I got other airlines do the exact same thing for me in cases of changes that were borne out of labor strikes or other reasons. They just rebooked me on another airline, sent me a message about it and apologized. People actually affected will confirm and I do hope for them this is what happened.

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Jacksong April 27, 2019

Well since the ECJ ruled strikes are not extraordinary circumstances EU261 is going to apply so compensation and re-routing is a given for SK for these cancellations.

April 26, 2019

“Now, fortunately, we have done a good job in advance to reduce the scope. We made a solid move yesterday by pre-canceling so that there was more predictability today. I think we have a less chaotic situation at the airports than would otherwise have been the case.” HUH? What? So by cancelling flights and leaving passengers stranded you've reduced the scope of the strike. I fail to understand how that is the case. If SK rebooked affected passengers on comparable flights and gave them compensation that would be one thing.