Norwegian domestic flight turns around to avoid overtime pay to crew members

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01 Nov 2012

by admin

A Norwegian domestic flight with 40 passengers on board turned around and returned to its original destination-just so the crew would not have to be paid over time.

The plane when started to descend was informed by the flight-controllers to return back to Trondheim after flying approximately 170 miles. The last minute decision was made due to Norwegian government’s bizarre working time regulations.
Company Widerøe, a regional carrier owned by Scandinavian airline SAS, said that the last-minute decision was based on Norway’s strict working time regulations.
“Unfortunately, the plane took off with a crew that was about to clock out. We have strict working hours that are imposed by the authorities, which we cannot exceed,” a spokesman for the company, Richard Kongsteien, told the paper.
“If the airplane had landed, it would have had to stay in Mosjøn since we didn’t have a back-up crew there, and the schedule for the rest of the evening would have had to be cancelled,” he said, adding that this would have affected more than 200 passengers.