Air Canada to cancel flights Thursday as strike threatens weekend travel for 130,000
Now Air Canada will start cancelling flights on Thursday in anticipation of a possible strike that could see more than 10,000 flight attendants walk off the job this weekend.
According to a report by the CBC, the airline says flights will be gradually reduced, with more cancellations on Friday, leading to a complete halt of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge operations by the weekend to ensure an orderly shutdown.
A disruption could impact roughly 130,000 passengers per day, according to the carrier.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) issued Air Canada the required 72-hour strike notice overnight after contract talks hit an 'impasse' on Tuesday.
This means flight attendants could walk off the job as early as 12:58 a.m. ET on Saturday.
In response, CUPE says Air Canada has served a lockout notice set to begin at 1:30 a.m. ET that same day — a move the airline confirmed on Wednesday.
What is Air Canada's obligation to passengers?
Air Canada has stated that customers affected by cancelled flights will be notified and eligible for a full refund.
The airline has arranged partnerships with other Canadian and international carriers to offer alternative travel options whenever possible, including for passengers whose itineraries change mid-journey.
A flexible rebooking policy is also in place, allowing all customers to change or defer travel at no additional cost.
Flights operated by Air Canada Express through Jazz and PAL Airlines will continue as scheduled, as flight attendants under these operations are not involved in the current negotiations.
The airline has noted that under Canada's Airline Passenger Protection Regulations, customers are not entitled to compensation for delays or cancellations caused by events outside the carrier's control, such as strikes or lockouts.
However, Air Passenger Rights advocacy group president Gabor Lukacs points out that Air Canada is responsible for its decision to cancel flights preemptively in anticipation of a strike or lockout that has not yet begun, describing it as a business decision fully within the airline's control rather than a safety requirement.
Passengers with flights cancelled on Thursday or Friday before the work stoppage takes effect must be given a choice between two options.
The first option is to be rebooked at no additional cost on the next available flight, including those operated by competing carriers, with meals, overnight accommodation, and cash compensation depending on the length of the delay.
The second option is to receive a refund within 30 days, along with compensation of up to $400 per passenger for inconvenience.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
16 minutes ago
- Reuters
Air Canada cabin crews strike for third day as dispute strands passengers
MONTREAL, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of Air Canada ( opens new tab passengers were grounded at the height of summer travel season on Monday amid a standoff between striking cabin crews and a government board that said the stoppage was unlawful. The Canadian Union of Public Employees said the strike would continue until the carrier negotiates on wages and unpaid work, even after the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) declared the strike unlawful and Prime Minister Mark Carney pleaded for a resolution. "We are in a situation where literally hundreds of thousands of Canadians and visitors to our country are being disrupted by this action," Carney told reporters in Ottawa. "I urge both parties to resolve this as quickly as possible." The third day of a strike by more than 10,000 flight attendants has stranded passengers and led Air Canada to suspend its third-quarter and full-year 2025 guidance, sending shares down about 1%. The carrier, which normally carries 130,000 people daily and is part of the global Star Alliance of airlines, had planned to start ramping up operations on Sunday evening, after CIRB ordered the union to return to work and start binding arbitration. In a message to cabin crew on Sunday seen by Reuters, an Air Canada executive told workers they would be accountable for defying the board's order and not returning to work. "What your union has not explained is that by not returning to work, you are personally accountable for that decision," said Andrew Yiu, vice president, in-flight service, for Air Canada's mainline and low-cost Rouge service. "To be clear, there is no lockout in place, and the continued strike is illegal." The flight attendants, who are pushing for a negotiated contract, are striking for wages similar to those earned by cabin crews at Canadian carrier Air Transat ( opens new tab, and to be fully paid for work on the ground, such as boarding passengers. Michael Lynk, professor emeritus of law at Western University in London, Ontario, said there are provisions in the Canada Labour Code that give the board and the court the right to issue fines and sanctions against the union and against individual workers. The CIRB gave the flight attendants a noon EDT (1600 GMT) deadline to issue a public notice withdrawing the strike. Crew are mostly paid when planes are moving, sparking demands by unions in the U.S. and Canada to change the model, and generating some vocal support from passengers on social media. While passengers have largely expressed support for the flight attendants, some are growing weary of the uncertainty. Danna Wu, 35, said she and her husband will have no choice but to drive from Winnipeg to Vancouver if the strike persists for a visa appointment she said she cannot afford to miss. Although she believes Air Canada should pay its attendants more, the master's student at the University of Manitoba added, 'it's not responsible to strike and leave thousands of passengers in such chaos.' Air Canada's demands on unpaid work follow gains recently won by flight attendants in the United States. New labor agreements at American Airlines (AAL.O), opens new tab and Alaska Airlines (ALK.N), opens new tab legally require carriers to start the clock for paying flight attendants when passengers are boarding. American's flight attendants are also compensated for some hours between flights. United Airlines' <UAL.O cabin crews, who voted down a tentative contract deal last month, want a similar provision. The government's options to force an end to the strike include asking courts to enforce the order to return to work and seeking an expedited hearing. The minority government could also try to pass legislation that would need the support of political rivals and approval in both houses of parliament, which are on break until September 15, but has so far been cautious. "The government will be very reticent to be too heavy-handed because in Canada the Supreme Court has ruled that governments have to be very careful when they take away the right to strike, even for public sector workers that may be deemed essential," said Dionne Pohler, professor of dispute resolution at Cornell University's Industrial and Labor Relations School. Another option is to encourage bargaining, Pohler said. On Saturday, Carney's Liberal government moved to end the strike by asking the board to order binding arbitration. The CIRB issued the order, which Air Canada had sought, and unionized flight attendants opposed. The previous government, under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, intervened last year to head off rail and dock strikes that threatened to cripple the economy, but it is highly unusual for a union to defy a CIRB order. CUPE said its rejection was unprecedented when such an order was made according to rules, known as Section 107, that the government invoked in this case.
The Guardian
19 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Air Canada flight attendants' strike ruled illegal by industrial board
Canada's industrial relations board has declared a strike by 10,000 flight attendants illegal and ordered them back to work as the federal government seeks to end a bitter contract dispute that has halted hundreds of summer flights and stranded travellers around the world. Flight attendants with Air Canada went on strike on Saturday after months of failed negotiations with Canada's flagship carrier over wages. Ahead of the work stoppage, Air Canada warned that a shutdown could affect 130,000 people a day. Less than 12 hours after the strike took effect, however, the country's jobs minister, Patty Hajdu, used her broad powers to impose binding arbitration on both parties – a move the union representing flight attendants decried as unconstitutional. 'The talks broke down,' Hajdu told reporters over the weekend. 'It is clear that the parties are not any closer to resolving some of the key issues that remain and they will need help with the arbitrator.' Air Canada initially said it planned to resume flights on Sunday, but the union said it would defy the government's back-to-work order and accused the governing Liberal party of trampling on workers' rights and setting a 'terrible' precedent. 'The Liberals have talked out of both sides of their mouths. They said the best place for this is at the bargaining table. They refused to correct this historic injustice through legislation,' Wesley Lesosky, a senior member of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, said in a statement. 'Now, when we're at the bargaining table with an obstinate employer, the Liberals are violating our Charter rights to take job action and give Air Canada exactly what they want – hours and hours of unpaid labour from underpaid flight attendants, while the company pulls in sky-high profits and extraordinary executive compensation.' Following an emergency hearing on Sunday requested by Air Canada, the industrial relations board sided with the federal government and airline. 'The members of the union's bargaining unit are directed to resume the performance of their duties immediately and to refrain from engaging in unlawful strike activities,' according to a directive from the board. The union has not yet responded publicly to the order, but said it intends to challenge government-imposed binding arbitration in a federal court. If they defy the order from the labour board, union heads can be arrested and union members face the prospect of steep fines. The prime minister, Mark Carney, said it was 'disappointing' the stalled negotiations had not yielded a new contract. 'We recognize very much the critical role that flight attendants play in keeping Canadians and their families safe as they travel, comfortable as they travel,' Carney told reporters on Monday. 'And it's important that they're compensated equitably at all times, fairly at all times.' On Monday morning, Air Canada said it hoped to resume flights later in the day, but also suspended its financial guidance for the third quarter and its full year due to the shutdown. The strike is expected to cost the airline tens of millions of dollars in lost earnings each day.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Air Canada flight attendants' strike declared illegal after planes grounded for days
A strike by 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants has been deemed illegal, and workers ordered back on the job. The ruling from the Canada Industrial Relations Board comes after the flight attendants defied an earlier return-to-work order that also told them to submit to arbitration. Air Canada is the country's largest airline and the strike, coming during the peak summer travel season, is affecting about 130,000 travelers per day. It entered its third day Monday after the airline suspended previous plans to restart operations Sunday. The two groups remain opposed on pay and other workplace issues. The Canada Industrial Relations Board declared a strike by 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants illegal Monday and ordered them back on the job after they ignored an earlier order to return to work and submit to arbitration. 'The members of the union's bargaining unit are directed to resume the performance of their duties immediately and to refrain from engaging in unlawful strike activities,' the Canada Industrial Relations Board board, or CIRB, said in a written decision. The board, an independent administrative tribunal that interprets and applies Canada's labor laws, said the union needs to provide written notice to all of its members by noon Monday that they must resume their duties. It is not immediately clear what recourse the board or the government has if the union continues to refuse. The panel previously ordered airline staff back to work by 2 p.m. Sunday after the government intervened and Air Canada said it planned to resume flights Sunday evening. But when the workers refused, the airline said it would resume flights Monday evening instead. Air Canada said in a statement that the union 'illegally directed its flight attendant members to defy a direction from the Canadian Industrial Relations Board.' Canadian Union of Public Employees national President Mark Hancock on Sunday had ripped up a copy of the initial back-to-work order outside Toronto 's Pearson International Airport, and said members would not go back to work this week. Picketing flight attendants chanted 'Don't blame me, blame AC' outside Pearson. Jennifer Kozelj, a spokeswoman for Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu, said Sunday that the minister was closely monitoring the situation. Hajdu had ordered the 10,000 flight attendants back to work, saying now is not the time to take risks with the economy and noting the unprecedented tariffs the U.S. has imposed on Canada. Hajdu referred the work stoppage to the Canada Industrial Relations Board. The airline said the CIRB has extended the term of the existing collective agreement until a new one is determined by the arbitrator. Air Canada operates around 700 flights per day. Flight attendants walked off the job around 1 a.m. EDT on Saturday. Around the same time, Air Canada said it would begin locking flight attendants out of airports. The bitter contract fight escalated Friday as the union turned down Air Canada's prior request to enter into government-directed arbitration, which allows a third-party mediator to decide the terms of a new contract. In 2024, the government forced the country's two major railroads into arbitration with their labor union during a work stoppage. The union for the rail workers is suing, arguing the government is removing a union's leverage in negotiations. Passengers whose flights are impacted will be eligible to request a full refund on the airline's website or mobile app, according to Air Canada. Air Canada and CUPE have been in contract talks for about eight months, but they have yet to reach a tentative deal. Both sides have said they remain far apart on the issue of pay and the unpaid work flight attendants do when planes are not in the air. The airline's latest offer included a 38 per cent increase in total compensation, including benefits and pensions, over four years, that it said 'would have made our flight attendants the best compensated in Canada.' But the union pushed back, saying the proposed 8 per cent raise in the first year didn't go far enough because of inflation.
