SAS to halt most flights, temporarily lay off 90% of staff

Airline SAS said it will temporarily halt most of its flights from Monday until conditions for commercial aviation improved.

Travel restrictions and falling demand due to the coronavirus have hammered airlines around the world, forcing them to reduce flights and lay off staff to stay afloat. SAS said on Sunday it would temporarily lay off up to 10,000 employees or 90% of the airline's total workforce.

"Demand for flights into, out of, and within Scandinavia has more or less disappeared," chief executive Rickard Gustafson told a press briefing on Sunday. "We have to adapt to current circumstances and starting tomorrow, Monday, we will temporarily pause a large part of our operations and we will heavily reduce the number of flights in our entire network," he added. SAS said it would as far as possible maintain some flights within the next few days to enable people to return home.