Johannesburg
– South African Airways says it is experiencing operational delays and flight
cancellations due to industrial action by members of its cabin crew.
This
is as cabin crew went on strike Wednesday morning over meal allowances.
Speaking on 702 this morning, the spokesperson for the South
African Cabin Crew Association said the crew had not had an international meal
allowance increase in six years.
The crew want the daily allowance raised from $131 for all three
meals to $170 a day, although the crew is open to negotiation, the spokesperson
says.
SAA says flights departing from
coastal cities early this morning were impacted and it is considering its
options to accommodate passengers affected by the cancellations.
The
airline says the required number of cabin crew members are currently not
available to enable SAA to operate all of its flights.
Read also: SAA cabin crew on strike over meals
SACCA represents about just more
than 80 percent of all SAA crew and the company cannot legally put planes in
the air without crew.
Late on Tuesday, SAA said it was doing
everything possible to find common ground and/or a settlement on matters that
are currently under discussion. “Negotiations are ongoing and the company
remains optimistic that the strike action could be averted.”
It also said preparations were underway to support any service
disruptions.
On Wednesday morning, it
said several flights had been affected.
These are:
Johannesburg
Delays:
SA401
Johannesburg - Port Elizabeth
SA459
Johannesburg – East London
Cancellations:
SA531/538
Johannesburg – Durban - Johannesburg
SA307/322
and SA313/326 Johannesburg - Cape Town - Johannesburg
SA317/332
and SA323/SA334 now to operate on a A340-600 aircraft to create more seat
capacity
Flight
Departed:
SA527
Johannesburg – Durban departed with a 51minute delay
SA303
Johannesburg – Cape Town departed with a 20 minute delay
All
flights departing from Cape Town and Durban departed as per normal.
It
says it will provide further updates on what options are available to its
customers. These include combining some of the cancelled flights to minimise
the impact of the delays customers will experience as a result of flight
cancellations.
“The
airline will ensure that all changes are published timeously and on the day of
travel support will be provided to customers who may experience flight delays
or cancellations that may occur during this period.
“SAA
regrets the inconvenience to all its customers and is exploring ways in
conjunction with its partners to facilitate the accommodation of its passengers
on later flights or on partner flights.
“Other
travel options and/or flight details will be communicated as soon as final
arrangements have been confirmed.”
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