Scandinavian Airline Suspends 1700 Flights Due to Pilot Strike

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*Originally posted on travelradar.aero - the leading aviation news source*

The Scandinavian airline SAS said that approximately four percent of the total number of flights scheduled for September and October had been cancelled, as reported on SchengenVisaInfo.com.

The airline has been presented with a number of strikes over the past few months due to pilots enduring overtime as well as demand for better pay. The Scandinavian airline SAS pilots had undergone a 15-day strike in July which cost the airline more than $145 million at the time and affected 3,700 flights during their busiest summer season.

Is the Scandinavian airline impacted due to pilot strikes?

The Scandinavian airline has recently announced the cancellation of 1700 for the next two months and customers have been informed and re-booked to other flights.

“It is the effects from the strike but also delayed deliveries of aircraft and some other factors,” the spokesperson said.

Only a day after the strike was launched, the Scandinavian group SAS filed for protection. Nonetheless, the government of Sweden has declined the request for more cash due to the current global economic situation, whereas Denmark has said that it might take away some debt and inject funds provided that SAS founds support from other investors too.

SAS voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 5th with a U.S. private equity firm, Apollo Global Management. In the USA, Chapter 11 is a mechanism allowing a company to restructure its debts under court supervision. The Scandinavian airline SAS said,

“Operations and flight schedule are unaffected by the Chapter 11 filing, and SAS will continue to serve its customers as normal.”

The strike has also been due to the shortage of pilots as many were laid off during the start of the pandemic as airlines could not afford to keep all their pilots on a consistent payroll when travel was at a standstill for months on end. Re-hiring has been an issue at airports across the world as many airlines did not prepare for the potential of how busy the summer period would get post-pandemic.

The Scandinavian airline said that the strikes haven’t had an impact on the current demand for air travel as the summer season slowly dies down.

Will SAS be able to pay off its debts and survive its current insolvency? Let us know in the comments.

*https://travelradar.aero*