Three-day SAS strike ends, flights to resume Friday (Roundup)

Apr 26, 2007, 23:43 GMT

Copenhagen - A three-day strike by Danish cabin crew members that forced Scandinavian air carrier SAS to cancel nearly 700 flights from its main hub in Copenhagen ended late Thursday, the airline said.

SAS said it aimed to resume services as soon as possible but estimated that at least 30 to 40 flights would be delayed or possibly cancelled on Friday. Late Thursday, the cabin crew union announced they would be returning for work Friday morning.

Passengers were advised to check company websites or the Copenhagen airport's website for information on their respective flight.

Another 282 flights were cancelled Thursday due to the strike. The airline had already cancelled 290 flights Wednesday and 113 flights on Tuesday, creating severe backlogs for passengers.

Flight attendants on Wednesday had rejected an order from a labour tribunal to return to work, and risk an increase in fines.

SAS management and the cabin crew union met again Thursday in the Danish Labour Court. The union was reported to be angry about holiday regulations and off-time between flights and wanted more say on work schedules.

They agreed to resume work after a commitment from management to discuss terms.

The dispute has impacted both SAS' customer image and bottom-line, with an estimated loss of 3.7 million dollars each day.

Management has also sent a letter to the striking flight attendants requesting them to hand back door passes and parking cards.

'This shows how serious we view the matter,' spokesman Jens Langergaard told Danish news agency Ritzau.

SAS management criticized the strike, saying they were still in talks with the unions and due to consider a proposal presented by an arbitrator.

The governments of Norway, Sweden and Denmark together own a 50- per-cent stake in SAS, while private shareholders hold the rest. SAS has 2,850 employees, including 1,600 cabin crew.