At the end of April, SAS notified 5,000 employees, almost half its staff, of layoffs. The reason was that the airline was hit hard by the corona crisis.

SAS now chooses to terminate 560 of the notified pilots. Something the Swedish pilot association has views on.

- You have decided to go ahead with layoffs before looking at other alternatives, says chairman Martin Lindgren.

- We cannot see that SAS has shown that it should reduce operations so much that it justifies so many pilots' dismissal, he continues.

Travel reduction by 98 percent

In May, travelers to and from Swedavia's airports fell by 98 percent compared to the same month last year. But even though the airlines have been tough, the Swedish Pilots Association thinks that they must be able to look ahead.

- Many of those affected by this have long notice periods. How can SAS know what the situation looks like in six months when these pilots leave. We think they take in quite a lot, says Martin Lindgren.

SVT News has applied for SAS for a comment, but without success.