South African Airways cabin crewmembers who had gone on strike forcing some flights to be cancelled have returned to work following a court order.
The airline had earlier said it hoped that a solution would be reached to end the dispute with the South African Cabin Crew Association.
The cabin crewmembers had downed their tools to demand higher meal allowances when working outside South Africa.
According to the airline, 50 flights, including 28 domestic ones, were cancelled Wednesday due to the strike.
Later however, a labor court ruled that the strike was not allowed under terms of the crewmembers’ contracts.
Currently, cabin crewmembers get a meal allowance of $130 per trip. They wanted $170, arguing that the allowance had not increased in half a dozen years and that they stay in international hotels where food is expensive.
Hundreds of travellers were stranded at the OR Tambo International Airport for the better part of the Wednesday as their flights kept being cancelled. Others were informed that they would have to spend the night in hotels awaiting Thursday’s flights.
