South African Airways cancelled flights to Perth and Sao Paulo Thursday after the SAA Pilots Association confirmed plans to strike following failed pay negotiations.
The airline made the decision Wednesday night after unsuccessful attempts to rebook passengers with partner carriers, according to Khaya Buthelezi, SAA’s senior manager of corporate relations. “That’s the decision we took last night since we could not find partner airlines that we can transfer our customers to,” he told Reuters.
Domestic flights and African routes continued operating under contingency plans, while pilots gathered to picket outside the carrier’s offices at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport.
Pilot Sibusiso Nxumalo, representing both the SAA Pilots Association and the National Transport Movement Pilots Forum, told state broadcaster SABC the strike focused on improving working conditions rather than purely financial demands. “The company has made a profit in the past couple of months. It’s not like we want a piece of that pie, we just want to have better working conditions,” he said.
The labor action marks a significant challenge for the national carrier, which narrowly avoided liquidation in 2019 through bankruptcy protection measures. The airline has been working to rebuild operations since emerging from restructuring.
