The strike marks the longest pilot strike in SA history. The pilots embarked on what was meant to be a one-day strike to express their dissatisfaction with salaries and the implementation of a new algorithm driven rostering system.

In an open letter to the public published on Tuesday, the pilots voiced their discontent over the rostering system, claiming that it's led to irregular schedules and insufficient rest.

Solidarity Spokesperson, Helgard Cronje says: "When most of the pilots went to Safair, they went Safair had a fixed roster pattern. They could fly but they could also arrange their lives around their work because it was a predictable roster.

And then Safair started discussions with us regarding the change to an open roster system. Those discussions didn't deliver any outcomes, and we went into a dispute about the rostering system.

And whilst we were in that dispute, the company decided to implement an open roster system from February 1, irrespective of those discussions not being finalised. And it broke down that trusted relationship between the pilots and the company."
--SABC--