Icelandair says strike delay would deepen existing damage

Icelandair says postponing a planned aircraft engineers’ strike would not reduce the damage already caused, but would prolong uncertainty and increase losses for all parties, mbl.is reports. The strike is due to begin at midnight leading into Wednesday.

The airline issued the statement after rejecting an offer from the Icelandic Aircraft Engineers Association (FVFÍ) to postpone the strike by seven days.

“Icelandair welcomes the Icelandic Aircraft Engineers Association’s willingness to continue the dialogue with the aim of reaching an agreement. Icelandair also remains willing to negotiate, but the company cannot agree to postponing the strike by one week,” the statement said.

Icelandair said the strike notice had already caused significant damage to its operations, the tourism industry, the Icelandic economy and society as a whole.

The airline said it had taken extensive measures to minimise the damage and provide passengers with greater certainty. Nearly 3,000 passengers have already moved their flights to other dates, while there are signs of slower bookings, cancellations and passengers switching to other airlines.

The same trend is affecting Icelandic tourism, where bookings have slowed and cancellations have occurred, according to Icelandair.

The airline said the damage already caused could not be recovered and that postponing the strike by a week would restart the same chain of events for that period and cause further losses.

Icelandair also referred to a legal provision stating that a planned strike cannot be unilaterally postponed with less than three days’ notice. The provision was introduced on the grounds that damage caused by a work stoppage generally cannot be prevented at shorter notice, the airline said. FVFÍ had the option of unilaterally postponing the strike on Saturday.

Icelandair said it considered it more appropriate for FVFÍ to withdraw the strike notice rather than postpone it, while negotiations continued at full pace if there was confidence that dialogue could produce an agreement.

The airline said it had proposed in writing that the parties meet on Monday with the aim of reaching an agreement, but no such meeting had taken place.