South African Airways (SAA) flights on all major domestic and regional routes have been affected as a result of a pilots’ strike that kicked off on Thursday following deadlocked wage talks.
In a travel advisory issued to stakeholders, SAA said the strike would affect the flights it operates on the routes between Johannesburg to the following locations: Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Windhoek, and Mauritius.
On social media, would-be travellers complained of disruptions to other destinations, such as Lagos.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that SAA flights to both Perth and São Paulo had been cancelled.
In its travel advisory, SAA said only flights operated by itself would be affected by the pilots strike. Flights operated on partner airlines, including codeshare partners and Star Alliance partner airlines, would not be affected, it noted. SAA said passengers booked on flights affected by the cancellations would be re-accommodated on the next available flight operated by SAA.
In a statement issued on Thursday afternoon, SAA interim CEO, John Lamola, said not all SAA pilots were on strike. “Despite some alterations and restrictions to the SAA schedule and services during this period, SAA remains operational and continues to serve its passengers,” he said. “We are committed to ensuring that all passengers reach their destinations despite the challenges posed by a limited schedule and necessary re-accommodations on other airlines.”
Pilots picketed outside the SAA office at the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg on Thursday morning, demanding that the airline come back to the negotiating table.
Against a demand for a salary increase of 15.7% from the SAA Pilots Association (SAAPA), SAA has, however, offered an 8.46% pay increase backdated to April, warning that meeting the pilots’ demands would risk bankrupting the airline.
SAA was placed into business rescue in late 2019, but emerged out of it in April 2021 and resumed commercial operations in September that year. The airline recently reported its first profit in more than a decade, with a net profit of R252 million for the 2022/23 financial year.
Pilots were forced to take a 50% pay cut during the business rescue process, with salary levels remaining below international standards. The work rate has also increased, with pilots arguing that their high workload is at the very upper end of civil aviation authority workhour limits and is affecting safety.
Aviation expert and editor of SA Flyer Magazine, Guy Leitch, said SAA simply could not afford a strike during the holiday season.
“[SAA] cannot afford not to give their salary increase. It can’t operate without them,” he said, adding that SAA was not strong enough to carry a protracted strike, with all indications being that this industrial action won’t be short-lived.
The domestic industry, meanwhile, continues to experience a growing outflow of pilots heading to the Middle East and Australia.
“At the ATNS [Air Traffic Navigation Services], there has been a massive outflow of staff due to poor working conditions and pay compared to international companies,” said Leitch. “We often find that SAA pilots who have been stuck as captains for 20 years realise that they are attractive to airlines that are desperate for pilots and [they] receive up to three times higher pay.”
Leitch said the number of pilots at the airline has decreased massively since its peak five years ago, from 750 to 146.
The Aviation Professionals South Africa has since referred the dispute to the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA), which will now assist the SAA pilots in salary negotiations.
In a letter to its members on Thursday, IFALPA vice president, Kevin Judkins, said SAA was unwilling to engage in meaningful negotiations during a Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration process, with seemingly no will to resolve matters fairly and collaboratively.
“Pilots received pay cuts of up to 50%. It now seems entirely reasonable to receive appropriate recognition for those sacrifices,” Judkins wrote, noting that a 25 November strike ballot found an overwhelming 92% of the membership was in favour of taking industrial action.
