Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) trolled British media on social media after two networks confused the carrier with a British military unit with the same initials.
British Media Confuses SAS For Special Air Service, A UK Military Unit
The closure of London Heathrow Airport on Friday due to a fire at a nearby substation was the leading story across the United Kingdom. As info came in from all directions, both SkyNews and The Guardian (so this wasn’t an ideological problem) got their SAS confused…
SAS is short for Scandinavian Airline System, the flag carrier of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. SAS is also short for Special Air Service, an elite and secretive British military unit that conducts undercover works like surveillance and also assists with rescue missions when needed.
On Friday morning, SAS put out a statement saying it was forced to cancel its 12 Heathrow flights due to the airport closure. Somehow, SkyNews and The Guardian thought that the message came from the Special Air Service and quickly reported that military flights from Heathrow had been suspended, using the Special Air Service logo.
That led to a quip from SAS on the X platform:
“We get it, SkyNews and The Guardian – same initials, both wear uniforms, operate internationally, and move fast. But only one SAS was affected by the Heathrow power outage. Spoiler: it was the one with the free coffee onboard, not the one with parachutes.”
We get it, @SkyNews and The Guardian – same initials, both wear uniforms, operate internationally, and move fast. But only one SAS was affected by the Heathrow power outage. Spoiler: it was the one with the free coffee onboard, not the one with parachutes. pic.twitter.com/vHzoZ3TUCG
— SAS – Scandinavian Airlines (@SAS) March 21, 2025
This reminded me of the Asiana flight 214 pilot names incident from 2014:
As I said then, “This news footage above is not a joke, folks. The names are not even Korean names. Kind of makes you wonder about the rest of the news we hear…”
> Read More: Local News Station Reports Racist Joke as Names of Asiana Flight 214 Pilots
In this case, the error may have been harmless, but talk about sloppy…but yes, I know I can do better too.
The best part about the news report about Asiana was that the names were in chronological order of the event. I didn’t realize that until much later and it made that segment even funnier 😀
Nice dig at BA for killing off free coffee.
Agree. They pretty much win on all fronts.
Both SkyNews and The Guardian (so this wasn’t an ideological problem)
They are ideologically identical on all issues of the day.
I meant one leans left, one leans right.
You must be thinking of Sky Australia. Sky UK does not lean right.
https://www.allsides.com/news-source/sky-news-media-bias
Isn’t SkyNews owned by Murdoch and The Guardian a left-of-center paper?