Were you planning to fly Air Canada? What to know about a looming strike
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Air Canada says it will begin cancelling flights that were scheduled to take off Thursday, with increasingly more disruptions by the weekend if a last-minute deal can't be reached before the work stoppage takes effect.
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For summer travellers worried about what this means for their plans, here's what you need to know.
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Not yet. The Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees has signalled its intent to go on strike as of early Saturday morning.
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That notice was issued just before 1 a.m. ET on Wednesday. Half an hour later, Air Canada issued a notice that it also plans to lock out flight attendants.
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Such notices were required 72 hours in advance of any labour action. That means the work stoppage would officially begin Saturday around 1 a.m. if the two sides don't reach an 11th hour deal.
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A work stoppage will affect Air Canada's main operations and Air Canada Rouge.
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Air Canada said it will begin a gradual suspension of flights in advance of the strike deadline to allow an orderly shutdown leading up to Saturday.
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The airline said the first flights will be cancelled Thursday, with more Friday and a complete stoppage by the weekend.
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Flight attendants working for Jazz and PAL, which operate Air Canada Express flights, are not part of the negotiations. Flights under those banners will continue to operate as normal.
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Affected customers will be eligible for a full refund, which can be obtained through Air Canada's website or mobile app.
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The company also said it has made arrangements with other Canadian and foreign carriers to provide customers with alternative travel options to the extent possible. That includes passengers whose itineraries change mid-journey.
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'Customers will be notified of alternative travel options that are identified for them,' it said.
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'However, given other carriers are already very full due to the summer travel peak, securing such capacity will take time and, in many cases, will not be immediately possible.'
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