South African Airways Hit by Pilot Strike Leads to Immediate Flight Cancellations

Many people claimed they would take action against the airline for missing their flights and the air was filled with anger and frustration. The National Transport Movement (NTM) and the South African Airways Pilots Association (Saapa) went on strike on Thursday leaving travelers stuck at OR Tambo International Airport in Gauteng.

Following confirmation from the South African Airways Pilots Association (SAAPA) that they want to go on strike following a lack of progress in salary negotiations, South African Airways (SAA) on Thursday announced that it had canceled flights to Perth, Australia and Sao Paulo, Brazil. 

“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,”  Khaya Buthelezi, the airline’s senior manager of corporate relations told Reuters.

On Thursday, vacation travel including to Mauritius was placed on indefinite hold. Many people said they would take action against the airline for missing their flights and the air was filled with anger and frustration.

The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department watched as numbers of pilots gathered outside Airways Park two kilometers away. The association lowered its initial demand for a 30% pay increase for pilots to 15.7% plus benefits. When negotiations started in April, the airline responded with an offer of 8.46% only.

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They said that there had only been four days of negotiations in seven months and accused the airline’s management of “not coming to the party.” “Management has not communicated today. They have had our demands on the table for a long time and we hope there will be a prompt resolution,” said Captain Sibusiso Nxumalo. 

He claimed that during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic and the airline’s following relaunch, pilots experienced “huge pay cuts” and lost numerous benefits. They declared that until their demands were addressed and given due consideration, they would keep going on strike. Pilots acknowledged that passengers were frustrated but they were unable to continue operating in the current environment until their demands were met.