Air Canada suspends all operations sparking travel chaos – what to do with flight tickets
Customers have been left scrambling for help after the airline announced on Saturday morning that all flights are grounded due to employee strikes.
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The strikes, led by the Canadian Union of Public Employees, will impact an estimated 130,000 passengers a day, according to the airline.
Flight attendants walked out at 1 a.m. on Saturday after the airline refused to accept new contract negotiations, Canadian Union of Public Employees spokesman Hugh Pouliot confirmed.
Only regional Air Canada Express flights operated by Jazz Aviation and PAL Airlines are not affected.
"Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge carry approximately 130,000 customers a day who could be affected by a disruption, this includes the 25,000 Canadians that the airline flies home from abroad each day, who could be stranded," it said in a statement before the strike was confirmed.
The airline announced it will begin a phased shutdown as the first flights began being canceled on August 14 as the airline and the union took to the negotiating table.
"The company has made arrangements with other Canadian and foreign carriers to provide customers alternative travel options to the extent possible,' it added.
'Customers will be notified of alternative travel options that are identified for them.
"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."
The airline said travelers whose flights are canceled can ask for a full refund should they opt not to travel on alternative flight arrangements made for them.
Although Air Canada doesn't fly domestically in the US, the airline does serve as a carrier for international connections, which could affect American flyers on a connecting flight.
Chaos as UK airspace meltdown strikes again and grounds all outbound flights
An estimated 27,000 American customers are expected to be impacted by the cancellations, according to Air Advisor.
US customers should continuously check their flight status to ensure that their flight has not been cancelled or rebooked.
While the duration of the strike is unknown, passengers with flexible travel plans can rebook their flights between August 21 and September 12 at no additional cost.
It is not yet known how long disruption could last as Air Canada Chief Operating Officer Mark Nasr said it could take up to a week to fully restart operations once any kind of deal is reached.
Air Canada noted that since the strike is out of the airline's control, it is not legally required to provide compensation for food and lodging expenses.
CONTRACT ISSUES
The strike comes after eight months of negotiations between Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees.
Air Canada Strike statement
'We regret the impact a disruption will have on our customers, our stakeholders and the communities we serve. However, the disappointing conduct of CUPE's negotiators and the union's stated intention to launch a strike puts us in a position where our only responsible course of action is to provide certainty by implementing an orderly suspension of Air Canada's and Air Canada Rouge's operations through a lockout. As we have seen elsewhere in our industry with other labour disruptions, unplanned or uncontrolled shutdowns, such as we are now at risk of through a strike, can create chaos for travellers that is far, far worse,' said Michael Rousseau, President and Chief Executive of Air Canada.
'Our latest offer included a 38 per cent increase in total compensation over four years that would have made our flight attendants the best compensated in Canada, along with provisions for ground pay and other work-life balance, career and pension improvements. At the same time, we asked for no concessions from the union. Given this, while we remain available for discussions with CUPE, we have requested government-directed arbitration as we now view it as the only certain avenue to bring closure to bargaining and mitigate the impact on travellers, business and the Canadian economy.'
Flight attendants are asking the airline for higher pay and for on-ground pay.
Currently, flight attendants only receive pay for their time spent flying, which doesn't include boarding passengers or deplaning.
'The disappointing conduct of CUPE's negotiators and the union's stated intention to launch a strike puts us in a position where our only responsible course of action is to provide certainty by implementing an orderly suspension of Air Canada's and Air Canada Rouge's operations through a lockout,' said Michael Rousseau, President and Chief Executive of Air Canada.
'Our latest offer included a 38 per cent increase in total compensation over four years that would have made our flight attendants the best compensated in Canada, along with provisions for ground pay and other work-life balance, career and pension improvements.
'At the same time, we asked for no concessions from the union. Given this, while we remain available for discussions with CUPE, we have requested government-directed arbitration as we now view it as the only certain avenue to bring closure to bargaining and mitigate the impact on travellers, business and the Canadian economy.'
Flight attendant Henly Larden told the Associated Press that the union won't stop fighting until all its demands are met, with an emphasis on ground pay.
'Just because it's a past practice doesn't mean here in 2025 that it's OK or it's right, and we want to change that going forward,' she said.
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