Thousands left stranded as Swedish pilots strike extended

Scandinavian Airlines has cancelled an additional 240 flights scheduled to depart Tuesday in a move that will affect 25,500 travelers around Europe.

Negotiations between the pilots' union and Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) between Sunday and Monday were fruitless.

SAS' decision to ground another 240 flights means that, by the end of Tuesday, a total 100,000 travelers will have been affected by the strike, which started Friday evening.

"We are sorry that our passengers are hit by the ongoing pilots' strike in Sweden. Unfortunately, there will be many cancelled flights and delays to and from Sweden on Monday and Tuesday," SAS wrote on its Facebook page.

SAS decided on Monday to cancel the following day's flights is because it would be hard to get regular traffic going on time even if the union and the airline manage to reach an agreement before the morning, Karin Nyman, head of communications at SAS, explained.

Nyman told Swedish Television: "It is an enormous apparatus to start again, and regardless of how negotiations work out we won't be able to get the flights going again tomorrow."

The strike has left thousands of travelers stranded at airports around Europe and particularly at Stockholm's Arlanda airport. Many queued for up to six hours in order to re-book their tickets. Passengers were urged not to go to the airports but to contact the airline from home in order to re-book their tickets.

On Friday, the Swedish Airline Pilots Association called the strike for 400 SAS pilots who have Stockholm's Arlanda airport as their base. Among their demands is a common pay scale for all Swedish pilots and a 3.5 percent pay rise.

SAS' long-distance flights to the United States and Asia and flights carried out by temporary operators, including some domestic flights, have not been affected by the strike. Endit