This is how the salaries of South African pilots compare to global pilots.
Image: Pexels
The South African aviation industry is facing major trouble as FlySafair pilots down tools over a pay dispute.
This strike sparked widespread flight cancellations and debate around pilot remuneration.
While FlySafair insists its pilots are among the best-paid in the country, international comparisons reveal that even top local salaries remain far below global benchmarks.
While FlySafair insists its pilot pay is competitive locally, global comparisons suggests otherwise. We crunch the numbers to compare the salaries.
South Africa
United States
Middle East & Asia
Europe
On Monday morning, domestic carrier FlySafair was forced to cancel at least 26 flights after receiving last-minute notices from pilots that they would not report for duty.
The company, facing a planned two-week stay-away by pilots, says the disruption is deeply regrettable but largely out of its control.
“What we are experiencing is industrial action on the part of our pilots. Unfortunately, our hands are tied,” said Kirby Gordon, Chief Marketing Officer at FlySafair, speaking from OR Tambo International Airport. “We are issuing refunds and rebooking where we can, but negotiations remain tense.”
The airline claims pilots already earn between R1.8 million and R2.3 million per year, placing them “within the top 1% of earners in the country.”
However, Solidarity’s deputy general-secretary, Helgard Cronje, refutes the notion that this is a full-scale strike, instead blaming FlySafair’s lockout of around 200 pilots for the escalating crisis.
As seen above, despite the high salaries claimed by FlySafair, South African pilots still earn less than half, or even a third, of what their global peers take home. Meanwhile, domestic travellers are left scrambling.