By ROB GILLIES with AP
Printed on
Air Canada began cancelling flights on Thursday forward of a potential work stoppage by flight attendants that would impression a whole lot of hundreds of travellers.
A whole shutdown of the nation’s largest airline threatens to impression about 130,000 individuals a day.
The union representing round 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants issued a 72-hour strike discover on Wednesday. In response, the airline issued a lockout discover.
The strike is about to start at about 01:00 EST (07:00 CET) on Saturday, 17 August.
What number of flights has Air Canada cancelled?
Mark Nasr, Chief Operations Officer for Air Canada, mentioned the airline has begun a gradual suspension of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge operations.
“All flights will likely be paused by Saturday early morning,” he mentioned.
Nasr mentioned this strategy will assist facilitate an orderly restart, “which below the most effective circumstances will take a full week to finish.”
He mentioned a primary set of cancellations involving a number of dozen flights will impression long-haul abroad flights that had been as a result of depart on Thursday evening.
“By tomorrow night, we anticipate to have cancelled flights affecting over 100,000 prospects,” Nasr mentioned. “By the point we get to 1 am on Saturday morning, we will likely be fully grounded.”
He mentioned a grounding will have an effect on 25,000 Canadians a day overseas who could turn into stranded. They anticipate 500 flights to be cancelled by the tip of Friday.
Information from Flightradar confirmed 30 cancelled Air Canada flights by 5:30 EDT (11:30 CEST) on Friday.
Air Canada has warned passengers with out confirmed flights to not go to the airport.
Nasr mentioned prospects whose flights are cancelled will likely be eligible for a full refund, and it has additionally made preparations with different Canadian and international carriers to supply different journey choices “to the extent potential.”
Why are Air Canada flight attendants placing?
The union has mentioned its major sticking factors revolve round what it calls flight attendants’ “poverty wages” and unpaid labour when planes aren’t within the air.
Some flight attendants on the airline’s information convention on Thursday held up indicators that learn “Unpaid work gained’t fly” and “Poverty wages = UnCanadian.”
Arielle Meloul-Wechsler, head of human assets for Air Canada, mentioned their newest supply features a 38 per cent improve in complete compensation, together with advantages and pensions, over 4 years.
Natasha Stea, who represents flight attendants in Montreal for the union, mentioned she thinks the airline is relying on the federal government to intervene. Stea mentioned they need a good and equitable contract.
“There’s nonetheless time. I’m positive if we sat down and talked, we may really get to an settlement,” she mentioned.
The union rejected a proposal from the airline to enter a binding arbitration course of, saying it prefers to barter a deal that its members can then vote on.
Meloul-Wechsler mentioned they’ve hit an deadlock however are nonetheless out there for talks and consensual arbitration.
She mentioned that if a deal is not reached, the ensuing “very critical disruptions” would immediate the corporate to contemplate asking for presidency intervention.
Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu mentioned she requested the union to reply to the airline’s request for arbitration. She urged either side to come back to an settlement independently, saying she believes offers are greatest made on the bargaining desk.
The escalation in negotiations comes almost a 12 months after Air Canada averted a potential strike by its pilots in September 2024 that likewise threatened a shutdown. A contract deal was reached, nonetheless, earlier than the pilots’ union may difficulty a 72-hour strike discover.
These pilots now say they assist their colleagues of their battle for a brand new contract.
“We stand towards authorities intervention and ask for the Air Canada Flight Attendants’ collective bargaining rights to be revered,” the union representing about 5,400 of the airline’s pilots mentioned Thursday in an announcement on X.