On Sunday, the striking SAS pilots announced that they will stop flying home stranded charter passengers from tomorrow, Monday.
The pilot unions’ message makes sense for the charter companies because several of their customers are still at their destinations, unaware of when they can fly home again.
– This is something that has difficult consequences for us and of course for our customers, who are further delayed, says Claes Pellvik.
“Extremely difficult to find alternative flights”
The unions argue that flights have been deployed to popular and well-trafficked holiday destinations, such as Rhodes, Crete and Split, from where there are alternative routes. But Claes Pellvik does not buy that argument.
– This is information that is incorrect. It is extremely difficult to find alternative flights because the entire European aviation industry is going at full speed, he says.
Since last Friday, the majority of Ving’s customers have been able to travel home again. But for 150 customers, whose return trip was planned for Monday, the situation is uncertain.
– SAS will probably not be able to fly it and therefore we are looking for alternative departures for them, says Claes Pellvik.
Apollo: “There are no alternatives”
The charter company Apollo is also disappointed with the pilot unions’ message. According to the company’s communications manager, Sandra Miller Kinge, approximately 5,000 Apollo customers, of which 300 are Swedish, are stranded.
– They are very disappointed, just like us. There are those who need to go home for medical reasons, those who are going home to their jobs and other important things. We try to take care of them in the best way, but we have no answer when they are allowed to go home and it is of course experienced as difficult.
In addition, about 15,000 customers, including 4,000 Swedes, have had their holidays canceled due to the strike, she says.
Like Ving, Apollo believes that the pilot unions’ arguments about alternative routes do not hold.
– If there had been replacement traffic, we would have booked them on it. The entire aviation industry is heavily employed. There are no alternatives, says Sandra Miller Kinge.