SAS cancelled all flights out of Copenhagen until 11:00 a.m. (1000 GMT), when it expects the strikers to return to work, company spokesman Jens Langergaard told AFP.

The wildcat strike comes after the airline cancelled about 420 flights over the past three days out of Copenhagen due to heavy snow and extreme cold, stranding thousands of passengers.

"SAS-Denmark regrets that our clients are now being inconvenienced by cancellations and delays due to an illegal action by the pilots," head of communications Anne Bove-Nielsen said in a statement.

"SAS expects this strike to conclude as quickly as possible," she added.

The pilots halted work to protest management plans to let a number of them go and to move pilot contracts to the local SAS-Denmark company from the Scandinavian umbrella group, something they claim will worsen working conditions and salaries.

More than 50 Norwegian SAS-Braathens staff also called in sick on Monday in what is thought to be a solidarity action with Danish colleagues, entailing the cancellation of more than 50 flights so far today, SAS-Braathens said, adding that more flights would probably be cancelled throughout the day.

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