“The vast majority of travellers won’t be affected by this, other than they will be rebooked to a flight within a few hours or on the same day,” press officer Karin Nyman told newspaper Dagens Industri (Di).

In total, around 5 percent of flights will be affected.

Nyman told the newspaper that the reason behind the cancellations is a staff shortage combined with delayed deliveries of new aeroplanes.

The pilot’s union told Di that they had warned of staff shortages in summer on multiple occasions.

Flight expert Jan Ohlsson agrees that staff shortages are a problem.

“SAS have loads of planes, loads of flight routes but no one flying the planes. There’s a total overcapacity,” he told TT.

He said that numerous experts have warned SAS of this situation. Despite this, SAS put even more planes, including older planes with their livery changed, into rotation. The lack of staff means that they need to hire in pilots from external companies to get the planes flying.

“SAS have put themselves in a difficult situation,” Ohlsson told TT. “I – and others with me – think that SAS should have fewer planes flying instead and should be looking at which routes they are even flying at all”.