Airline SAS cancels 1,200 more flights as pilot strike drags on

Empty seats are seen as SAS pilots go on strike at Oslo Airport in Gardermoen, Norway April 26, 2019. [Reuters]

Scandinavian airline SAS canceled more than 1,200 flights scheduled for Monday and Tuesday as a pilot strike that has disrupted the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers entered its third day on Sunday.

SAS pilots went out on strike on Friday as wage talks broke down, grounding around 70 percent of the airline’s flights and impacting about 280,000 passengers including the latest cancellations.

“We deeply regret that our customers are affected by the ongoing pilot strike when SAS now cancels flights on Monday and Tuesday,” the airline said in a statement.

“The strike will affect an additional 61,000 passengers on Monday when 667 flights are canceled across Scandinavia. On Tuesday 49,000 passengers and 546 departures will be affected.”