Update: SAS Pilot Strike Ends After 360,000 Passengers Affected
Update as of 2 p.m. on 05/05/19:
Some good news for passengers holding tickets with Scandinavian Airlines (SAS): the company has announced it has reached an agreement with its pilots to end the current pilot strike.
The company says that around 360,000 passengers have been affected by 4,015 canceled flights during the six-day strike of pilots in Denmark, Sweden and Norway. SAS says it will take a few days for things to return to normal so some disruptions may still occur. If you are holding a ticket with SAS you can head over to the website to get the latest information on flight disruptions.
According to a report by Frequent Business Traveler, the new three-year agreement will give pilots a "3.5% pay increase in 2019, a 3% increase in 2020, and a 4% increase in 2021. In addition, the agreement will provide improved scheduling and job security for the pilots."
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About 70,000 flyers across Europe and the US are facing canceled and delayed flights Friday after Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) pilots declared they were going on strike indefinitely.
The 1,400 pilots in Sweden, Denmark and Norway went on the open-ended strike after pay negotiations with the airline fell apart late on Thursday, Forbes reports. The strike affects domestic flights, routes through Europe and long-haul flights to and from the US.
Within the US, SAS flies to Boston, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco and Washington, DC. According to Flight Aware, at least some of the SAS flights into New York (EWR), Chicago (ORD), Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO), Washington (IAD) and Miami (MIA) were registering as canceled.
On Friday alone, 673 flights worldwide were canceled. As the pilot walkout stretches into the weekend, about 250,000 passengers are expected to be affected. SAS said it was contacting the affected customers by text or email. The airline was also offering full refunds to passengers who wanted to cancel their flights altogether. More information on rebooking and refunds can be found here.
A list of flights not affected by the strike is on the SAS website for passengers' reference. Flights operated by SAS' partners will not be affected by the strike.
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