Air Canada cancels flights for over 100,000 passengers as cabin staff go on strike
The union representing more than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants confirmed the action in a social media post in the first strike by cabin crew since 1985.
Attendants are currently paid when the plane is moving, and the union was seeking to also be compensated for time on the ground between flights and helping passengers board.
Montreal-based Air Canada, which is expected to respond quickly by locking out the workers, has said it anticipated cancelling 500 flights by the end of Friday during the busy summer travel season. It expected around 100,000 people to be affected on Friday alone.
Flight attendants are likely on Saturday to picket at major Canadian airports, where passengers were already trying to secure new bookings earlier in the week, as the carrier gradually wound down operations.
Air Canada workers speak with a passenger at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, on August 15. Photo: Reuters
Passenger Freddy Ramos, 24, said on Friday at Canada's largest airport in Toronto that his earlier flight was cancelled due to the labour dispute and he had been rebooked by Air Canada to a different destination.
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