SAS strike-affected tourists unable to return to Copenhagen
Striking SAS pilots will this weekend begin bringing back thousands of charter flight passengers who would otherwise be left stranded, but flights are unlikely to land at Copenhagen Airport as things stand.
The chairman of the Norwegian SAS pilots’ trade union, Roger Klokset, told news agency NTB in Norway that pilots will “fly empty aircraft to collect passengers from destinations where it is difficult to find alternative return transport”.
According to SAS, 18 flights will depart on Friday to bring home stranded charter tourists.
READ ALSO: Striking SAS pilots agree to fly back stranded charter passengers
More flights are likely to depart this weekend although the exact number is currently uncertain, according to SAS head of media communications in Denmark Alexandra Lindgren Kaoukji.
An initial figure of 100 flights was given, but this is now not certain to be the case.
“We are deciding day by day” Kaoukji told news wire Ritzau.
In the first instance, the flights will primarily land at Stockholm and Oslo airports with only a very limited number returning to Copenhagen, SAS said.
That is because 200 flight mechanics at Copenhagen Airport are currently also striking in sympathy with the SAS pilots.
“There are very strict requirements for aircraft maintenance. It is completely rule-bound,” Kaoukji said.
“We have been able to release aircraft that did not need maintenance,” she said, adding that SAS is in dialogue with the mechanics’ trade union, Dansk Metal.
“As soon as we have an agreement, we can continue the operation,” she said.
Dansk Metal head of negotiations Keld Bækkelund Hansen told Ritzau that the mechanics had offered to end their strike under condition that the aircraft would be used to bring tourists home.
Hansen said that SAS was yet to indicate whether it would accept that offer.
Tourists are stranded at holiday destinations because SAS pilots went on strike on Monday after delivering them to their destinations last weekend.
READ ALSO:
Comments
See Also
The chairman of the Norwegian SAS pilots’ trade union, Roger Klokset, told news agency NTB in Norway that pilots will “fly empty aircraft to collect passengers from destinations where it is difficult to find alternative return transport”.
According to SAS, 18 flights will depart on Friday to bring home stranded charter tourists.
READ ALSO: Striking SAS pilots agree to fly back stranded charter passengers
More flights are likely to depart this weekend although the exact number is currently uncertain, according to SAS head of media communications in Denmark Alexandra Lindgren Kaoukji.
An initial figure of 100 flights was given, but this is now not certain to be the case.
“We are deciding day by day” Kaoukji told news wire Ritzau.
In the first instance, the flights will primarily land at Stockholm and Oslo airports with only a very limited number returning to Copenhagen, SAS said.
That is because 200 flight mechanics at Copenhagen Airport are currently also striking in sympathy with the SAS pilots.
“There are very strict requirements for aircraft maintenance. It is completely rule-bound,” Kaoukji said.
“We have been able to release aircraft that did not need maintenance,” she said, adding that SAS is in dialogue with the mechanics’ trade union, Dansk Metal.
“As soon as we have an agreement, we can continue the operation,” she said.
Dansk Metal head of negotiations Keld Bækkelund Hansen told Ritzau that the mechanics had offered to end their strike under condition that the aircraft would be used to bring tourists home.
Hansen said that SAS was yet to indicate whether it would accept that offer.
Tourists are stranded at holiday destinations because SAS pilots went on strike on Monday after delivering them to their destinations last weekend.
READ ALSO:
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.