Flight Chaos as Air Canada Staff Strike Grounds All Operations

Flight attendants initiate a 72-hour strike, leading Air Canada to ground all flights, impacting hundreds of thousands of travelers.

Air Canada has grounded all its flights following the initiation of a strike by cabin staff, a move that is set to disrupt travel plans for approximately 130,000 passengers each day. The union representing over 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants confirmed the start of the 72-hour walkout early Saturday morning. In light of the strike, the airline has urged affected customers not to proceed to the airport, unless they are flying with a different airline.

The strike officially took effect at 00:58 ET (04:58 GMT) on Saturday, though Air Canada had begun reducing its operations prior to this time. The airline estimated that around 500 flights would face cancellations daily during this period. Flight attendants are expected to picket at major Canadian airports while travelers scramble to secure alternative bookings.

Air Canada, which operates direct flights to 180 cities globally, announced, "we have suspended all operations," and "strongly advise customers not to go to the airport." However, flights on Air Canada Jazz, PAL Airlines, and Air Canada Express will continue unaffected. The airline expressed regret over the disruption caused by the strike.

In the lead-up to the strike, Air Canada canceled 623 flights by Friday night, affecting over 100,000 passengers, as part of the operational reduction in anticipation of the industrial action.

In the ongoing contract negotiations, Air Canada claims it offered flight attendants a 38% total compensation increase over four years, including a 25% raise in the first year. However, the union, CUPE, deemed the offer "below inflation, below market value, below minimum wage" and stated that it would still result in unpaid hours for flight attendants during boarding and waiting processes.

Both Air Canada and the union have exchanged critiques concerning their commitment to an agreement. Earlier this month, a staggering 99.7% of unionized employees voted in favor of striking. Canadian jobs minister Patty Hajdu urged Air Canada and the union to resume negotiations to avert the strike and revealed that Air Canada had requested her to refer the dispute to binding arbitration.

CUPE alleged that they had thoroughly negotiated for over eight months, only to face Air Canada seeking government-directed arbitration instead of engaging in good faith negotiations. The union's statement to its members asserted, "When we stood strong together, Air Canada didn't come to the table in good faith."