by Nurat Uthman
Pilots at South African Airways (SAA) agreed on Saturday to end a two-day-old strike that led to the cancellation of nearly half of the carrier’s flights on its first day, the company said.
The airline reached an agreement with the SAA Pilots Association (SAAPA) to halt the protest, the company said in a statement, two days after the pilots went on strike following a deadlock in pay talks.
SAAPA’s initial demand in May was for a 30% increase in pilot salaries, which was subsequently reduced to 15.7%, including associated benefits.
SAA, which initially offered an 8.46% pay increase backdated to April, said it had now offered a salary hike of 9.47%.
The union could not be immediately reached for comment.
The airline flew 51% of planned flights on Thursday, the first day of the strike, including only 33% of its international flights. It said it expected a full return to the regular flight schedule by Sunday.
