Air Canada has suspended operations as more than 10,000 of its flight attendants went on strike early Saturday after the airline and the union failed to reach a deal ahead of the deadline.
All Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge operations have been cancelled. Flights by Air Canada Express, which are operated by third-party airlines, are not affected.
The airline says about 130,000 customers will be impacted each day that the strike continues and some 25,000 Canadians may be stranded abroad daily. Air Canada operates about 700 flights a day.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) gave a 72-hour strike notice on Wednesday after midnight. Air Canada responded shortly after by saying it would lock out workers, and it began winding down operations on Thursday with a gradual suspension of flights.
The contract fight escalated on Friday as the union turned down the airline’s request to enter into government-directed arbitration, which would eliminate its right to strike and allow a third-party arbitrator to decide the terms of a new contract.
Flight attendants walked off the job at 12:58 a.m. ET Saturday. Around the same time, Air Canada said it would begin locking flight attendants out of airports.
Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu met with both the airline and union on Friday night.
In a statement posted on social media, she said she urged them to “work harder” to reach a deal “once and for all.”
“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.
Please see my statement on the latest development between CUPE Flight Attendants at Air Canada and Air Canada:<br>//<br>Voici ma déclaration sur les derniers développements entre les agents de bord du SCFP d’Air Canada et Air Canada : <a href=”https://t.co/vYTuFThYgg”>pic.twitter.com/vYTuFThYgg</a>
