FlySafair’s decision to cancel 26 flights because of a labour strike by pilots led to frustrations among travellers countrywide, with some left stranded in Gqeberha.
The Solidarity trade union said more than 200 pilots affiliated to it wanted a 10% salary increase and improved working conditions.
They have rejected the airline’s offer of a 5.7% salary increase and adjustments to compensation.
In a statement issued at 11pm on Sunday, the airline said while its contingency plans should ensure flight operations continued largely as scheduled on Monday, “unfortunately a quantity of flights have had to be cancelled”.
“The flights were assigned to pilots who had confirmed their availability to fly, but who late [on Sunday] night reported they would not fly.
“All other flights are operating as planned, and affected customers have been contacted directly using details provided at the time of booking.
“Should there be further disruptions, customers will be notified promptly.”
The strike also led to the abrupt cancellation of at least two flights both into and out of the Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport.
Among the 26 scheduled services scrapped nationally on Monday, a 1.30pm FlySafair flight to Cape Town was cancelled at the Gqeberha airport.
Travellers boarding a 10.20am flight to Johannesburg at the Gqeberha aiport on Monday morning said no delays had been communicated to them and they expected the flight to depart on time.
Mkhulumi Kriega said he had checked his flight the night before and was hoping for the best.
“Nothing was communicated to me about any potential cancellation so unless something happens on the other side [of the boarding gate] I expect to fly out by 10.30am,” he said.
Gerhard Junius, who flew to Gqeberha for a business meeting on an early-morning flight from Johannesburg with his colleagues, said he was hoping there would be no change to his 1.30pm return flight.
“We are here for a major automotive meeting, so the hope is that we can fly out afterwards with no problems.
“None of us has received any notifications of changes so we hope it will stay that way,” he said.
FlySafair said Solidarity’s pay hike demand amounted to more than a 20% increase in overall cost to the company when the increase on base salaries and additional flight pay and bonuses were taken into account.
This “is an unsustainable escalation for any company”.
By contrast, the company’s offer on base pay and other benefits including a flight-pay-based bonus brought the total increase to 11.29% on a cost to company basis, the airline said.
FlySafair pilots were among the best-compensated professionals in the country, it added.
Its captains earned between R1.8m and R2.3m annually.
“The salaries are regularly benchmarked against those at other local airlines and are higher than most.
“In terms of workload, FlySafair captains spent an average of 63 hours last month in the cockpit flying passengers.
“This is well within regulatory limits set by the Civil Aviation Authority, IATA and ICAO, which cap flight duty at 100 hours per month.
“Additional responsibilities such as training and office time are factored in, as is standby duty, where pilots must be ready to fly at short notice, which is served from home under minimal restrictions.”
FlySafair defended the rostering system it implemented at the start of the year, which is a bone of contention with the union.
“The system was designed to improve operational efficiency and provide pilots with maximum flexibility,” it said.
“The system — standard across the global airline industry and in force in every other airline in SA — allows pilots to receive their full monthly rosters by the 20th of the preceding month, enabling personal planning and scheduling.
“It also includes a preferential leave bidding process and a structured marketplace to facilitate duty swaps within regulated flight and duty limits.
“We deeply regret the impact the situation is having on our customers.
“Our goal remains to reach a reasonable resolution quickly.” — Additional reporting by TimesLIVE
The Herald
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