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SAS plane over Paris: fear of bankruptcy
Photo: REUTERS
The airline Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) sees its survival threatened because of the current strike by its pilots.
"The strike jeopardizes the success of the Chapter 11 process and ultimately the survival of the company," said SAS boss Anko van der Werff.
The financially troubled airline has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States to protect itself from its creditors.
The SAS pilots stopped work on July 4 after collective bargaining failed.
They are protesting against planned salary cuts, which they say could amount to up to 30 percent.
The unions are also demanding that pilots who lost their jobs during the pandemic be reinstated at SAS Scandinavia, rather than having to apply with new hires for positions with less attractive conditions at the company's subsidiaries.
The following day, the company, whose main owners are the governments of Sweden and Denmark, filed for bankruptcy in the United States.
Financial difficulties in the pandemic
According to the airline, the walkout costs between nine and twelve million dollars a day.
In the past ten days, more than one billion Swedish crowns (94 million euros) have already been incurred.
Negotiations between the unions and company management have so far not led to a solution.
According to SAS, more than 2,500 flights have been canceled since then, affecting a total of 270,000 passengers.
More than 60 percent of the connections failed.
Like many companies in the industry, SAS got into financial difficulties as a result of the corona pandemic.
The airline employs almost 7,000 people, mainly in Sweden, Norway and Denmark, including around 900 pilots.
rai/AFP
