Air Canada to start cancelling trips after flight attendants' union issues strike notice
The Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, or CUPE, issued a 72-hour strike notice on Wednesday morning, meaning that more than 10,000 flight attendants at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge could go on strike starting Saturday, August 16.
Air Canada said that in order to manage the uncertainty ahead of a heavy travel period, the first flights will be cancelled on August 14, with more on August 15, and a complete suspension of all Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge operations on August 16 if a deal between both sides is not reached by then.
Explainer: Air Canada starts cancelling flights ahead of possible flight attendant strike. Here's what you need to know
Customers whose flights are cancelled will be notified, and will be eligible for a full refund, the airline said in a statement.
Air Canada has requested that the federal government intervene in the labour dispute by directing the Canada Industrial Relations Board to impose binding arbitration, which would force both sides to settle on a new contract.
But Ottawa has so far been reluctant to step in. In a statement issued late Tuesday evening, Minister of Jobs and Families Patty Hajdu said that both parties should stay at the table until a deal is reached. 'The best agreements are the ones the parties reach themselves,' she said.
Earlier: Air Canada labour talks break down hours before strike notice deadline
CUPE spokesperson Hugh Pouliot said that the union had submitted a counter proposal on wages on Tuesday evening, but Air Canada did not respond, forcing the union to issue a strike notice. Air Canada subsequently issued a lockout notice to staff which will take effect at 1:30a.m. on Saturday, August 16, if a deal is not reached.
'We are still at the bargaining table. We are just waiting for Air Canada to respond,' Mr. Pouliot told The Globe.
Wages are at the crux of the dispute between Air Canada and CUPE.
The airline is offering a compounded wage bump of 17.2 per-cent over the next four years (8 per-cent in year one, 3 per-cent in year 2, 2.5 per cent in year 3, and 2.75 percent in year 4), but the union argues that the cumulative wage increase does not come close to matching inflation over the last 10 years.
Air Canada flight attendants last negotiated a contract in 2015. The compounded rate of inflation in Canada from 2015 to 2025, is almost 28 per cent.
The other key point of contention between both sides is the issue of unpaid work. The union argues that flight attendants should be paid for the work they do before the airline takes off and after it lands. They are currently compensated an hourly rate from the time the airline takes off to the point where it lands, but are not paid during boarding, safety checks and deplaning.
The airline had offered to begin compensating flight attendants for some of these duties, but only at 50 per cent of their hourly rate, according to the union. A 2023 survey from CUPE found that flight attendants do not get paid for roughly 35 hours of work they do in a week, before take off and after landing.
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Toronto Sun
28 minutes ago
- Toronto Sun
Passengers left in the lurch as Air Canada fleet grounded over labour strife
Published Aug 16, 2025 • 1 minute read A flight board is seen at the Pierre-Elliott Trudeau Airport in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on August 15, 2025. Air Canada began cancelling flights on August 14 after receiving a strike notice from the flight attendants' union, warning all operations could be shut down by Saturday. Photo by ANDREJ IVANOV / AFP via Getty Images TORONTO — Passengers across the country scrambled to deal with the fallout as labour strife between Air Canada and the union representing its 10,000 flight attendants left planes grounded. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Major Canadian airports warned travellers not come to the airport unless they had a flight with another carrier after Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge suspended operations earlier today when the flight attendants when on strike. But dozens of passengers who had received notice that their flights were cancelled showed up to Toronto Pearson International Airport Saturday morning regardless, many looking for information from Air Canada staff about alternative options. Tanya Baron and her family are trying to get home to Saskatoon, but she fought tears as she explained the airline has yet to provide them with rebooking options and she was getting the runaround. Sandra Caputi, who was flying home to Thunder Bay, Ont., after spending a few weeks in Greece, is one of the lucky ones to grab a competitor flight from Porter at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport to take her home this afternoon. In Montreal, Bonnie Bradley says with no options available until Wednesday, she decided to book a car and drive home to Winnipeg after spending a 10-day holiday in Newfoundland. Read More Toronto Blue Jays Toronto & GTA Columnists Sunshine Girls Crime
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Union says 'nothing scheduled' with Air Canada as strike by flight attendants halts operations
Social Sharing The union representing Air Canada flight attendants says no talks are scheduled with the airline as a strike that began early Saturday led to the airline suspending operations. The union and airline met late Friday night before 10,000 flight attendants walked off the job at 12:58 a.m. ET, Wesley Lesosky, president of the Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), told a morning news conference. Lesosky said their last meeting was Friday night, but Air Canada offered "nothing of substance" to bring back to members. Asked when Canadians could expect to be back on flights, Lesosky said it's up to Air Canada, but that public pressure on the airline will make a "huge difference" in reaching a settlement. CBC News has reached out to Air Canada for comment and will update this story with any response. Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu also met with both the airline and union on Friday night. "It is unacceptable that such little progress has been made. Canadians are counting on both parties to put forward their best efforts," Hajdu said on social media platform X. Picket lines set up across Canada All Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights are suspended for now. Around 130,000 customers will be affected each day the strike continues, said the airline. Flights by Air Canada Express, which are operated by third-party airlines Jazz and PAL, are not affected. Cross Country Checkup is asking: How have you been affected by the Air Canada strike? What should be done about it? Leave your comment here and we may read it or call you back for our show on Sunday. "Air Canada deeply regrets the effect the strike is having on customers," it said in a brief statement early Saturday morning. CUPE has set up picket lines at airports across Canada, including in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver. Striking flight attendants also plan to picket at airports in Halifax, Ottawa and Winnipeg. In the meantime, passengers around the world are feeling the effects of the flight attendants' strike. Keelin Pringnitz and her family are from Ottawa and were returning from a European vacation, but were left stranded after flights were cancelled. "It was an end of my maternity leave kind of trip. We went to the Faroe Islands and Norway, travelling through Air Canada to London," Pringnitz said from London's Heathrow Airport. She noted there was an option for travellers to go the U.S. but she and others were told there wouldn't be any further assistance once they landed in the U.S. "It didn't go over well with the line. Nobody really seemed interested, everybody seemed a little bit amused almost at the suggestion, or exasperated, because it is a bit ridiculous to offer to take stranded passengers to a different country to strand them there." For customers due to travel soon whose flights are not yet cancelled, Air Canada said it will allow them to rebook their travel or obtain a credit for future travel. Sides at an impasse on pay Air Canada and CUPE have been in contract talks for about eight months, but have yet to reach a tentative deal. Both sides say they remain far apart on the issue of pay and the unpaid work flight attendants do when planes aren't in the air. WATCH | Thousands of Air Canada flight attendants walk off the job: Air Canada strike begins as flight attendants walk off the job 2 hours ago More than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants went on strike early Saturday morning, after the airline and the union representing them failed to reach a deal ahead of the deadline. With a work stoppage now in effect, Air Canada estimates that 130,000 customers will be affected each day of a strike, a figure that includes 25,000 Canadian travellers who are abroad. 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. Government intervention Air Canada previously asked Hajdu to intervene by ordering the parties to enter a binding arbitration process — a power granted to the minister through Sec. 107 of the Canada Labour Code. On Friday, Hajdu urged Air Canada and the union to get back to the negotiating table, suggesting she's not ready to intervene. The minister said the union has indicated many of its demands have been met, suggesting there is a path forward to a deal. WATCH | The impact of the flight attendants' strike on travellers: Air Canada flight attendants strike, setting stage for travel chaos 10 hours ago Canada's largest airline is now mostly grounded after a strike deadline passed for more than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants. Hundreds of flights have been cancelled impacting over 100,000 travellers and leaving some stranded. Hajdu had asked the union to respond to the company's request. CUPE indicated Friday it opposed arbitration, instead maintaining its desire to solve the impasse through bargaining.
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