SAS strike looms as overnight mediation continues
Friday 7th August 2026 on 01:15 in
Norway
Talks between Fellesforbundet, Parat and NHO Luftfart continued overnight without an agreement, Dagbladet reports. SAS employees could go on strike from Saturday morning if the mediation fails.
The meeting began at 10 a.m. on Thursday and was still under way more than 12 hours later. Parat’s chief negotiator, Martinus Røkkum, said the parties had brought items for an overnight stay.
National mediator Mats Ruland told NRK shortly after midnight that the parties were still meeting. The negotiations are focused on pay and other conditions for SAS cabin crew.
“We hope the company will meet us on what is important to us, including pay. There must be clear movement for us to accept something new,” Røkkum told E24 on Friday evening.
NHO Luftfart director Erik Lahnstein said both employers and unions wanted to reach an agreement, adding that most mediation processes end in agreement rather than a strike.
If no agreement is reached, a strike will begin at 4 a.m. on Saturday. Parat plans to strike with 175 cabin crew members in total, with 40 joining from Saturday, communications chief Trygve Bergsland told TV 2. Fellesforbundet has announced that 468 members will strike from Saturday.
Medevac flights and flights to and from Longyearbyen are exempt from the strike.
The mediation follows members of both Fellesforbundet and Parat rejecting a negotiated collective agreement for SAS cabin crew that was reached earlier this summer. Fellesforbundet negotiator Dag-Einar Sivertsen said financial issues were likely an important reason for the rejection, noting that some cabin crew members have very low pay given their responsibility for the safety of everyone on board.
Parat says SAS cabin crew earn 20 percent less than their colleagues at Norwegian. Fellesforbundet maintains that the figures are not directly comparable because the two airlines have different working weeks.
SAS communications chief Øystein Schmidt said the airline was focused on dialogue and hoped to find a solution that would prevent consequences for passengers.