Air Canada flight attendants go on strike, planes grounded
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About 10,000 flight attendants walked off the job early Saturday after pay talks between the Canadian Union of Public Employees and the country's biggest airline fell through. At Toronto Pearson, Canada's busiest airport, the departure board showed one cancellation after another.
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Air Canada suspended operations of its main line and Rouge budget brand as the strike began at 12:58 a.m. Eastern time. The Montreal-based carrier had scrapped hundreds of flights in the days before the deadline and said it imposed a lockout in response to the stoppage.
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'We are now officially on strike,' the union's Air Canada component said on its website.
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It's a major interruption to the nation's air travel system. Air Canada is the country's biggest airline, with a 50 per cent share of domestic passengers at Toronto Pearson and about 61 per cent at Montreal's primary airport, according to a recent report from the country's competition watchdog, based on 2023 data.
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The strike may cost Air Canada $75 million daily in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, TD Cowen analyst Tom Fitzgerald said in a note on Friday. Cargo operations will also be affected.
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Regional flights by Air Canada Express aren't affected because they're operated by third-party airlines, allowing some flights to US destinations such as Newark and Boston to go ahead.
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Pay dispute at heart of labour action
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Pay is a major sticking point in the negotiations. Air Canada said it offered to increase total compensation, including benefits and bonuses, by 25 per cent in the first year and 38 per cent over four years, and agreed to pay workers for some of the time they spend on the ground. Air Canada flight attendants are paid only when the aircraft is in motion and not for work such as boarding — a common practice in the industry.
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Patty Hajdu, Canada's minister of jobs and families, said she met with both sides late Friday and urged them to keep working to make a deal. 'It is unacceptable that such little progress has been made,' she said in a social media post.
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