Gardermoen will remain as one of three main bases for aircraft maintenance in the Nordic region – the production base in Stavanger will be closed

(Stockholm, June 12, 2006) The board of SAS Technical Services AB (STS) today decided to focus its operations for aircraft maintenance around the three main airports in Scandinavia. As a consequence of this, the production base at Sola near Stavanger will be closed as of effect on August 31, 2006.A commission which has analyzed and evaluated STS’ future operations gave its recommendation on June 1 this year. The conclusion was clear: Congregate all aircraft maintenance and locate it where the air traffic and customer-base are the highest – at the three main airports in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

Chairman of STS, Håkan Ericson, says in a comment that the board had no doubt what would be the right action to take for the company. “In order to create a solid platform for STS’ future operations, we must adapt to the market. The market, which is characterized by global players and competitors from countries with low production costs, demands a lower level of prices. We are not able to lower our prices unless we reduce our cost levels, at the same time we have to ensure close to full capacity utilization,” says Håkan Ericson. “By focusing our services of aircraft maintenance to the main airports in Scandinavia, we will create strong production bases where the demand is the highest. In doing so, we will secure the future foundation for most of our 2.500 employees.”

Nearly 700 employees at Gardermoen will constitute the largest unit in STS. 265 employees at Sola will be affected by the closure and the chairman of this part of the operations, Per Magne Mathisen, regrets the fact that the company has to let go of valuable competence. “265 employees have for many years carried out a tremendous job and kept a brilliantly competent technical environment in Stavanger.”

The production at STS’ base in Stavanger will now gradually be reduced, while at the same time an extensive program for assisting the employees in finding new jobs, will be implemented immediately. Each and all of the employees will receive salary the year out, and employees over 59-years of age are guaranteed continued employment in the SAS Group.

The employees of STS were earlier today informed of the board’s decision.

Considering the serious nature of the matter and its importance for many people, SAS CEO, Jörgen Lindegaard, has decided that the matter should be presented at the board of the SAS Group on June 15, 2006.

For more information, please contact the following persons:

Håkan Ericson, Chairman of SAS Technical Services AB and Executive Vice President of SAS AB.
Telephone: + 46 70 997 5004
Per Magne Mathisen, Chairman of BTS AS and Director of Heavy Maintenance in STS AB.
Telephone: + 47 957 16 655
For personell issues, please contact Svein Oppegaard, Head of Human Resources at STS AB.
Telephone: +47 957 18 794
________________________________________________________________________SAS Technical Services AB is the leading provider of aircraft maintenance in the Nordic region. The company has approximately 2.500 employees and a turnaround of around 550 million Euros.
The services and products offered include Line Maintenance, Airframe Maintenance with Base- and Heavy Maintenance, Engineering Services, Engine Management, Component Management and Maintenance Training.
The head office is located in Stockholm at Arlanda Airport. Production bases are located in Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo, Stavanger, Tallinn, Bergen and Gothenburg. Furthermore, there are some 80 line stations all over the world.
SAS Technical Services AB is a fully owned subsidiary of SAS AB and a member of the Airline Support Businesses of the SAS Group.