As pilots go on strike, South African Airways stops some flights

After the SAA Pilots Association confirmed that they will go on strike after salary negotiations came to a standstill, South African Airways said on Thursday that it has canceled flights to Perth and São Paulo.

Khaya Buthelezi, the airline’s senior manager of corporate relations, told Reuters that the firm decided to cancel the Perth and Sao Paulo operations on Wednesday night after being informed that the strike scheduled for Thursday would proceed.

“That’s the decision we took last night since we could not find partner airlines that we can transfer our customers to, it became clear that those two routes must be cancelled,” he stated.

According to Buthelezi, the airline had prepared backup plans, so there were no disruptions to domestic flights or routes throughout Africa early on Thursday. Outside the SAA office at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport, a few pilots were observed picketing.

Not all SAA pilots were on strike, according to a statement from John Lamola, the agency’s acting CEO.
“Despite some alterations and restrictions to the SAA schedule and services during this period, SAA remains operational,” Lamola stated.

Speaking on behalf of the National Transport Movement Pilots Forum and the SAA Pilots Association (SAAPA), SAA pilot Sibusiso Nxumalo told public news station SABC that their demands went beyond money and focused on improved working conditions and job conditions.
On Monday, nations negotiating a worldwide deal to reduce plastic pollution were unable to come to a consensus.

“Over the last few months, the business has turned a profit. “We simply want better working conditions; it’s not like we want a piece of that pie,” Nxumalo stated.

According to a statement released by SAA this week, the 30% raise in pilot wages that SAAPA had originally demanded in May was later lowered to 15.7%, including related benefits.

In a second statement, Lamola claimed that the company would go bankrupt if a 15.7% wage increase was demanded.

An 8.46% wage raise retroactive to April has been offered by the airline.

Before the national airline filed for bankruptcy protection in 2019, it was about to be liquidated.