NEWS

This could be a very bad weekend for Norwegian travelers. In addition to a threatened strike by SAS pilots, all departures at Oslo Airport Gardermoen could be cancelled on Friday over a separate work stoppage.

The conflict between Norway’s Parat union and the Confederation of Norwegian Service Industries (NHO Service) could completely shut down Oslo Airport for departures on Friday if the two sides cannot reach an agreement.

Over 500 airport employees, including security guards and baggage handlers, say they will walk off the job at 6am on Friday if labor negotiations are not successful by then.

Avinor, the company that runs Norway’s 46 state-owned airports, said it will have no choice but to ground all outgoing flights from Oslo Airport if the workers strike.

“With the extreme capacity reduction we are facing, the departures hall will quickly fill up, thus causing considerable security challenges.

“Our experience indicates that situations with such large crowds of people can be quite trying for some passengers, and we do not want a situation where we put travellers at risk,” said head of communications at Oslo Airport, Joachim Westher Andersen.

“Therefore, if there is a strike, we will shut down completely for departing passengers,” he added.

The potential strike comes as SAS pilots have also threatened to walk off the job in a separate conflict.

Passengers arriving at Oslo Airport as their final destination will not be impacted by Parat’s potential strike, but those with connecting flights might face problems, Avinor said.

If the workers do strike on Friday, it will be on a very busy travel day. A total of 42,200 departing passengers are expected, one of the highest single-day figures in the airport’s history.