South African Airways considering taking the weekend off
Troubled airline cites working conditions, aging fleet as issues
JOHANNESBURG — South Africa’s troubled state-owned airline has begun canceling flights after two unions announced their workers would go on strike to protest nearly 1,000 expected job cuts.
South African Airways has warned that the strike that begins Friday morning “endangers the future of the airline.”
The airline has canceled nearly all international and domestic flights it operates on Friday and Saturday after the South African Cabin Crew Association and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa said they would go on strike Friday.
The strike was announced shortly after the airline said it is launching a restructuring process that could affect nearly 950 employees.
Meanwhile, SAA said on Thursday it would offer unions a revised wage increase in a bid to avert a strike that has forced the airline to cancel domestic and international flights scheduled for Friday.
“We have a meeting scheduled for today at 2 o’clock and we are hopeful we will be able to resolve the issue ... It will include all the unions ... and if the meeting yields positive results we will then activate some of contingency plans that will allow us to reinstate flights,” said SAA spokesman Tlali Tlali in a live interview on news channel eNCA.
SAA has canceled “nearly all” flights scheduled for Friday because of a strike over wage increases planned by a majority of employees, television news channel eNCA said.
The airline says its challenges include insufficient revenue and an aging fleet.
SAA’s international destinations include New York, London, Hong Kong and Frankfurt.