Were you planning to fly Air Canada? What you need to know about the strike
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CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Leah Gazan joins Air Canada flight attendants' picket line in Winnipeg, slams back-to-work order
CTV's Gary Robson shows you the disappointment on the picket line outside Winnipeg's airport Saturday, following a federal back-to-work order.
Global News
2 hours ago
- Global News
Air Canada passengers left scrambling as strikes keep flights grounded
Air travellers across the country continued dealing with hundreds of grounded planes on Saturday as the federal government announced it was ordering a binding arbirtration in a labour strife between Air Canada and its 10,000 flight attendants on strike. Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said hours after the flight attendants initiated the strike just before 1 a.m. ET that she has also directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order both parties to resume operations. Though, she added, it could take between five to ten days for regular services to resume. But in Ontario, passengers who had received notice that their flights were cancelled still showed up to Toronto Pearson International Airport in search of information from Air Canada about alternative options. Tanya Baron said while fighting back tears that her family was trying to get home to Saskatoon and airline staff had yet to provide them with rebooking options and was giving her the runaround. Story continues below advertisement 'They send us here, they send us there. They tell us to call a number where no human ever answers. I get hung up on. They tell us to check the website. There's just no flights and no way to get home,' Baron said. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Noel Nemeth, who was hoping to fly back home to Edmonton, said he also hasn't gotten any answers on how he's getting home. 'Patience is a virtue I guess,' he said. 'I just have to wait until we can figure something out.' Sandra Caputi, who was flying home to Thunder Bay, Ont., after spending a few weeks in Greece, was one of the lucky ones to grab a competitor flight from Porter at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport to take her home. 'I asked probably about 10 different people until I got the answer I wanted,' she said. In Montreal, Bonnie Bradley says with no options available until Wednesday, she decided to book a car and drive home to Winnipeg after spending a 10-day holiday in Newfoundland. 'We're booking a car and driving home,' she said in an interview at Montreal's Trudeau International Airport. She spent a night at a hotel on her own dime in Montreal after a return flight arrived late. Story continues below advertisement Dmytro Okopmyi, who is trying to get back to Halifax after spending a few days in Toronto with his partner, also said the airline hasn't offered any options to rebook. Even if he takes the option to refund his ticket and finds a new flight online, he said he's worried that the cost to book a new last-minute ticket will be way more than the refund he's owed. 'They tell us we can get a refund (for our tickets) which would probably be $200, but to buy new tickets is probably going to cost around $1,800,' he said. Air Canada cancelled more than 600 flights over the past two days in preparation for a potential work stoppage
Calgary Herald
2 hours ago
- Calgary Herald
I was flying back through Calgary to Ottawa on Air Canada, then my flight got cancelled
What was originally supposed to be a layover in Calgary turned out to be more than I bargained for. Article content I joined the hundreds of other Air Canada passengers in the waiting area when the gate agent announced that we would start boarding in a few minutes. Unfortunately, they were still waiting for flight attendants to arrive. Article content Article content I was already anxious. When I checked in for my first flight early Thursday morning, I was warned that my flights were 'at risk' of cancellation due to labour disruptions. My first two — Portland to Vancouver, then Vancouver to Calgary — took off without any problems, so I was still holding out hope I would make it back home to Ottawa. Article content Article content But AC356, my next — and supposedly final — flight had already been delayed twice. According to the Air Canada app on my phone, it was due to 'airport limitations on an earlier flight,' which caused the scheduled aircraft to arrive late. Article content Article content Minutes passed. Several Air Canada flights started getting delayed one by one on the big TV screen above me. I watched the gate agents pace back and forth in front of the gate. One was on the phone, her brows furrowed. Article content A couple sitting in front of me started questioning whether they would be able to see their family in Ottawa. Beside me, an older woman kept refreshing the Air Canada app on her phone, anxious for an update. She told me she just wanted to go home. Article content 'We're very sorry, AC356 to Ottawa (YOW) was cancelled because a labour disruption is impacting our operations,' the message read. 'We're doing our best to get you on your way. We're looking for rebooking options on over 120 airlines, which may take some time.' Article content Article content 'We're very sorry, but after searching for flights on over 120 airlines for three days before and after your cancelled flight, we've been unable to rebook you,' it read. Article content Article content The waiting area immediately descended into chaos as confused and angry passengers expressed their frustration in response to the news. Article content Over 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants walked off the job on Saturday after contract talks between the Canadian Union of Public Employees and the airline came to a grinding halt. Wages and ground pay — which pays flight attendants for the work they do while the plane is grounded — were the two biggest issues that prevented both sides from reaching a deal. Article content Air Canada responded to CUPE's 72-hour strike notice on Wednesday by saying it would lock out the flight attendants and start winding down operations on Thursday with a full halt by Saturday. By Saturday afternoon, Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hajdu ordered an end to the job action, sending the two sides to binding arbitration under the Canada Industrial Relations Board.
