Air Canada Faces Major Disruptions as Flight Attendant Strike Looms
Air travel in Canada has been thrown into uncertainty as Air Canada begins canceling flights ahead of a possible strike by its flight attendants. The situation, already affecting tens of thousands of travelers, could escalate into a complete shutdown of the country’s largest airline by the weekend.
The union representing around 10,000 flight attendants served the airline with a 72-hour strike notice, setting the stage for a large-scale work stoppage. In response, Air Canada issued a lockout notice of its own, and the airline has already started suspending operations in a phased manner. According to Chief Operations Officer Mark Nasr, all Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights will be paused by early Saturday morning. He explained that this gradual approach was chosen to make restarting operations smoother later on, though even under ideal conditions it could take a full week to fully resume flights.
Already, dozens of long-haul flights scheduled for Thursday night were canceled, and the number of affected passengers is growing rapidly. By Friday evening, more than 100,000 customers are expected to have had their travel disrupted, and by early Saturday, nearly 500 flights will have been canceled. The airline estimates that up to 130,000 people a day could be impacted, including about 25,000 Canadians abroad who risk being stranded.
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Air Canada has stated that passengers whose flights are canceled will receive full refunds, and efforts are being made to accommodate travelers on other Canadian and international airlines where possible. But the scale of cancellations means alternative options are limited.
At the heart of the dispute are wages and working conditions. The union has described current pay as “poverty wages” and has criticized the airline for not compensating attendants during periods when planes are on the ground, calling it unpaid labor. At a news conference, protesting attendants held signs reading, “Unpaid work won’t fly” and “Poverty wages = UnCanadian.”
The airline says it has offered a substantial package—an increase of 38 percent in total compensation, including wages, benefits, and pensions, spread over four years. Air Canada’s head of human resources, Arielle Meloul-Wechsler, admitted talks have reached an impasse but emphasized that the company remains open to negotiations and arbitration. The union, however, rejected binding arbitration, saying it wants a fair deal that members can vote on directly.
Natasha Stea, a union representative in Montreal, expressed hope that meaningful talks could still avert a strike, while also accusing the airline of banking on government intervention. Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu has encouraged both sides to continue negotiating, stressing that the best agreements are made at the bargaining table rather than imposed through arbitration.
As the deadline approaches, uncertainty continues for passengers, employees, and the broader travel industry. With the potential grounding of Air Canada looming, the next few days could determine whether this dispute ends in compromise—or in one of the most disruptive airline shutdowns Canada has seen in years.
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