Air Canada May Cancel Flights This Weekend — Here’s What You Need to Know
Heads up, Toronto — if you’ve got plans to fly this weekend, you might want to double-check your ticket. Air Canada has announced it’s going to start cancelling flights starting Thursday (Aug. 14). This comes after the airline and the union representing its flight attendants hit a wall in contract talks. A possible strike could begin as early as Saturday at 12:58 a.m. ET.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents over 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants, gave official strike notice after negotiations reached what they’re calling an “impasse.”
In return, Air Canada says it will issue a lockout — meaning they could stop workers from showing up even if the strike doesn’t happen first.
How this could affect you
Air Canada says up to 130,000 travellers per day could be affected if the strike goes ahead. Most Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights could be grounded by the weekend.
However, Air Canada Express flights — the ones operated by Jazz and PAL Airlines — are expected to run as usual. So if you’re flying to smaller cities or hopping on a short haul flight, you might still be good.
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The airline is offering free rebooking for travellers scheduled between August 15 and 18 — if you booked your ticket before August 13. You can switch your flight to any date between August 21 and September 12. If your flight gets cancelled, you can also choose to get a refund.
What’s the strike all about?
The union says workers aren’t being offered fair pay, especially with how inflation has been hitting wallets across the country — from the TTC to the grocery store.
Air Canada, on the other hand, says it offered a total compensation increase of over 38%, but claims the union turned it down.
Negotiations started way back in March, and now both sides are pointing fingers. CUPE says Air Canada rejected their latest counter-offer, while the airline says the union is asking for too much.
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So, what’s next?
There’s still hope that a deal could be reached before the strike kicks in. CUPE says they’re willing to keep talking if Air Canada comes back to the table with something fair.
In the meantime, if you’re booked to fly this weekend — especially out of Pearson — stay alert and check your flight status regularly.
Are you flying this weekend? How would a strike affect your plans? Share your thoughts below.
More…
- https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/air-canada-union-strike-notice-1.7607154
- https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/article/air-canada-to-begin-cancelling-flights-ahead-of-possible-work-stoppage-on-saturday
- https://www.thestar.com/business/air-canada-to-begin-cancelling-flights-ahead-of-possible-work-stoppage-on-saturday/article_2264106a-9b14-5df0-b97c-7d68a860f2ab.html
- https://www.overheretoronto.com/air-canada-flight-attendants-strike-weekend
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