Scandinavian Airlines System – SAS has been forced to cancel thousands of flights this summer due to staff shortages and sickness, the airline revealed this week.
Around 4,000 flights are being axed as the airline struggles to keep up with demand and over-promised on its forthcoming schedules. According to reports from the carrier, the bulk of the flights being cancelled are between now and August and is limited to around 5% of its total scheduled timetable.
A spokesperson for the airline said “The vast majority of travellers won’t be affected by this, other than they will be rebooked to a flight within a few hours or on the same day,”
SAS is cutting flights from right across its network, including long-haul flights to destinations such as Los Angeles and Tokyo. Many of those getting chopped are international short-haul services in Europe, whilst a number of domestic flights in Norway, Denmark and Sweden are being removed. Head of the Norwegian SAS Pilots union Roger Klokset said the situation was a “foretold disaster” as the airline was slow to rehire staff which “led us into the situation we see now, because we have not managed to get enough people in on time,”
This raft of cancellations marks a big downshift for the airline that carried more than 1.5 million passengers in April, up 380% compared to the same month last year. April also saw SAS capacity increase 190% for April year on year.
SAS says it will contact all those affected passengers directly who will be offered alternative flights/times, but only If there is no alternative will the airline give a refund.
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