SAS strike: Hundreds more flights grounded as walkout enters seventh day

More than 1,400 pilots have walked out

SAS planes are seen grounded at Oslo Gardermoen airport during pilots strikes on 26 April (AP)

Hundreds more Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) flights are cancelled today as the pilot strike continues for a seventh day.

More than 1,400 pilots have walked out since last Friday over pay and unpredictable shift patterns.

Since then, the Scandinavian airline has cancelled more than 4,000 flights as strikes continued over the weekend and into this week.

It’s believed that around 380,000 passengers have been affected.

Talks between the two parties resumed yesterday, although no agreement has been reached.

The strikes have been called by the Swedish pilot union Svensk Pilotförening, SPF, backed by those in Denmark and Norway.

The main bone of contention is salaries, closely followed by irregular and unpredictable shift patterns.

“We entered these mediations with the requirement to get virtually the same agreement as our competitors in Norwegian, Ryanair or easyJet,” said Christian Laulund of the Norwegian SAS Pilots Association (NSF) in a statement. “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.”

In the latest statement, Rickard Gustafson, president and CEO of SAS, said: “The consequences are serious for all travellers, for society and also for all our employees who are working around the clock to help everyone.”

The airline said it was “striving to reach a solution as quickly as possible to prevent additional inconveniences for travellers”, and apologised for the “unusually long waiting times” for its customer service.

Flights operated by SAS partners, such as CityJet, will not be affected by the strike action, according to the airline.

Customers with upcoming bookings with SAS can rebook or cancel their tickets for free until 5 May.