SAS, Unions Agree Deal To End Pilot Strike

Scandinavian airline SAS has reached a provisional agreement with its pilot unions and said all flights in Denmark, Norway and Sweden will resume as soon as possible.

The agreement comes after the airline’s pilots walked out last Friday, halting the airline’s operations, although flights operated by partner airlines were not affected.

SAS said in a statement that negotiations with the Swedish SPF, Norwegian NSF/NF and SNF, and Danish DPF unions had concluded, with the parties agreeing new collective bargaining agreements.

The airline said the agreements were for three years and the unions had called off the strike that lasted almost a week. Flights are expected to return to normal over the next few days.

The agreements concern the predictability of scheduling, job security and salaries, with previous agreements on collaboration and career paths, which the airline cancelled, reintroduced, SAS said in a statement.

“It is with relief I now conclude that our customers soon will be flying again,” SAS chief executive Rickard Gustafson said. “The three-year agreements provide stability for the future and the terms of the Swedish agreement are on par with the industrial benchmark for the Swedish market.

“SAS operates in a highly competitive market and with these agreements we now need to intensify our work to build a long-term profitable and sustainable SAS,” Gustafson added.

The provisional agreements now go to membership votes for ratification.