On the night before Sunday, the announced lockout from NHO Luftfart came into force, which means that 450 aircraft technicians from NFO will be refused work.
For several weeks, there has been disagreement between the Norwegian Aircraft Technician Organization (NFO) and NHO Luftfart, where the latter went out on Tuesday night and announced a lockout.
At midnight, the lockout came into force, which means that the aircraft technicians who have not already gone on strike will be banned from working.
Nevertheless, the message from the airlines is clear: show up unless another message is given.
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On Sunday morning, the traffic flow at Oslo Airport Gardermoen went without major problems, according to Avinor.
– Right now, the estimated waiting time in the security check is ten minutes. It is good with travelers here, but it flows well, press officer Øystein Løwer in Avinor informs VG at 07.30 on Sunday.
Silje Brandvoll, communications director in Widerøe, tells VG that the regional flights and charter flights will be carried out as planned on Sunday.
– We fly what we can and what we achieve, Brandvoll says.
All short-haul flights, which are typically flights in northern Norway and western Norway, have been flown in to the base and will remain there until the strike is over. All flights until 5 pm have been canceled.
– All passengers must be contacted, Brandvoll says.
On Sunday morning, press manager Catharina Solli states that some regional flights will still be canceled.
– We have aircraft standing with technical challenges, which there are no technicians to correct. It propagates on some of the flights we should have had today, says Solli.
At 07.40, 67 Widerøe flights were canceled on Sunday, VG’s air traffic special shows. The company is prepared for several short-haul flights to be canceled if no agreement is reached.
Goes as normal
At Norwegian, communications consultant Silje Glorvigen says that they currently have no cancellations for Sunday. However, if something unforeseen occurs, for example if an aircraft requires an inspection by a technician, they may have to cancel.
– We work as best we can to minimize consequences for our passengers, but if there is a lockout on Sunday, it will of course have a significant impact on us in the long run. At the moment, we do not know what the consequences will be during the week, Glorvigen says.
Glorvigen says that if they have to cancel some flights in the coming days, they will contact the passenger to find the best possible alternative for them.
At SAS, too, traffic is running as normal until further notice.
“Tomorrow the traffic from the morning will be normal, but without technicians we expect that challenges will arise quickly,” Lars Wegelstorp Andersen, spokesman for SAS, told VG.
– Should people still show up for planned trips?
– Yes, basically people should show up as normal.
He also adds that if there are cancellations, the passengers in question will be contacted.
At midnight, the lockout is a fact, and Torbjørn Lothe in NHO Aviation comments this way to NTB.
– We are sorry that our and the Ombudsman’s repeated attempts to find a solution to the conflict have been rejected by the aircraft technicians in NFO. The distance is very large, and the demand from NFO is far beyond what has been agreed with other occupational groups in society.
– The lockout that has now come into force, will affect very many travelers who are going on holiday, the airlines in Norway and everyone who is dependent on flights in our long-distance country, says Lothe.
The ambulance airline Babcock applied for a dispensation from the lockout, but NHO aviation has rejected the application.