After the pilots’ strike in the summer, the ailing Scandinavian airline SAS is canceling almost 1,600 flights in Europe in the fall. A SAS spokeswoman for the German Press Agency (dpa) confirmed on Friday that four percent of 39,000 flights were affected.
“The affected passengers have already been informed and rebooked on other flights.” The failures affect neither the autumn holidays nor charter flights, said the spokeswoman.
The reasons for the cancellations are delayed aircraft deliveries and staff shortages, which are also related to the strike in the summer: many pilots are now catching up on vacation. About a month ago, after tough negotiations with Danish, Norwegian and Swedish pilots, the airline agreed on a new collective agreement. The pilots’ strike had cost the struggling airline millions.