SAS and the pilot union’s negotiations continue this Thursday

Negotiations between SAS and the Scandinavian pilot unions have been suspended on Wednesday evening and will continue on Thursday. Even if SAS and the pilot unions agree and the strike is called off, it may take a couple of days before SAS can fly as usual.

“It has gone up and down throughout the day, but we have chosen to continue tomorrow,” says SAS’s chief negotiator Marianne Hernæs on Wednesday evening.

Negotiations, which lasted for almost ten hours on Wednesday, resumed at 9.00 on Thursday morning.

Roger Klokset, who leads the Norwegian pilot union, does not want to comment on whether SAS has come up with any new bids, or how close the parties are to a solution. He also does not want to give an estimate of how long the negotiations may take.

Nor does the Swedish mediator Claes Stråth want to comment on how close the conflict is to a solution and when the strike may be over.

About 900 SAS pilots have been on strike since Monday last week. Since then, between 200 and 250 flights and 30,000 passengers have been affected daily.

On Monday, both parties announced that they were willing to start negotiations again. According to aviation analyst Hans Jørgen Elnæs, the message indicates that a solution may soon be in sight.

Even if the parties agree and the strike is called off, it may take a couple of days before SAS can fly as usual, according to SAS’s press manager in Denmark.

Source: Dagens Nyheter