SAS pilots strike means 1,200 more flights cancelled

HELSINKI – Nearly 600 flights have been cancelled and thousands of passengers stranded on the third day of a pilots strike at Scandinavian Airlines that the carrier estimates has affected some 170,000 passengers over the weekend.

The flag carrier of Denmark, Norway and Sweden on Sunday announced further flight cancellations as the parties failed to resume talks on a new collective bargaining agreement. It plans to cancel another 1,213 flights Monday and Tuesday, hitting some 110,000 passengers.

The open-ended strike started Friday following the collapse of pay negotiations with the SAS Pilot Group, which represents 95% of the company’s pilots in the three countries.

SAS said it “deeply regrets” the distress to clients on its domestic, European and long-haul flights.