Irish passengers stranded in Canada due to cabin crew strike
More than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants are due to walk off the job as of 7am Irish time on Saturday.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents cabin crew, rejected Air Canada's latest contract offer as inadequate.
Among their demands are that cabin crew be paid for the time they are on the ground preparing for flights. Some 98 per cent of flight attendants have voted for strike action
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Consequently, Air Canada has already cancelled 500 flights due to take off, as the planes and crew may be stranded overseas if and when the strike happens. The dispute is over pay and conditions.
Air Canada AC800 flight to Dublin was due to take off at 8.40pm local time in Canada and arrive in Dublin at 8.15am on Saturday.
Passengers on the flight were sent a message from the carrier to state that their system had looked for flight options on more than 120 carriers and found nothing available.
Passenger Miren McDonald at Pearson Airport in Toronto where a strike by Air Canada crew has brought many flights to a halt.
Passenger Miren McDonald said she and the other Dublin-bound passengers have been given no offer of accommodation and there is nobody to speak to at the airport.
All the passengers have received is a voucher worth CA$15 (€9.28) from Air Canada.
Ms McDonald said she feared that she and the other passengers would not be able to leave until the end of next week, as there are few scheduled flights to Ireland from Canada. 'We have been offered no help.'
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