SAA experiences delays due to strike action by employees of Ground Handling Company

South African Airways (SAA) is experiencing flight delays due to industrial action by ground handling staff at OR Tambo International Airport. Swissport, a company providing ground handling services to SAA and other airlines, has advised that some of its employees have embarked on unprotected strike action and will be implementing contingency measures to mitigate the impact on operations.

“We would like to apologise to our customers for the inconvenience caused by the delays we are experiencing due to the strike action. We would like to advise our customers to make the necessary adjustments to their travel arrangements to accommodate this unfortunate operational glitch,” said SAA Spokesperson Tlali Tlali.

A number of inbound and outbound flights have been affected since this morning with three flights to Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Maputo departing without any bags loaded. The bags were, however, loaded on subsequent flights.

The delay impact is by approximately one hour and thirty minutes and the airline has decided to mobilise its own resources to augment and support Swissport’s efforts to minimise the impact of the delay.

“We will do everything possible to assist passengers with onward connections via Johannesburg to their final destinations. Should the situation continue, we will implement additional recovery plans,” Tlali elaborated.

SAA is monitoring the situation closely and is in constant liaison with Swissport and other stakeholders in the value chain to coordinate efforts and render all the necessary assistance to affected customers.