Air Canada suspends all operations as flight attendants go on strike after no deal reached

Air Canada suspended all operations as greater than 10,000 of the airline’s flight attendants went on strike early Saturday after a deadline to achieve a deal handed.

Canadian Union of Public Workers spokesman Hugh Pouliot confirmed the strike had began after no deal was reached, and the airline mentioned shortly after that it will halt operations.

“We are actually formally on strike! Picket traces might be energetic in any respect bases,” the union mentioned in a press release.

It’s the first strike by flight attendants since 1985.

A bitter contract battle between Canada’s largest airline and the union representing 10,000 of its flight attendants escalated Friday because the union turned down the airline’s request to enter into government-directed arbitration, which might eradicate its proper to strike and permit a third-party mediator to determine the phrases of a brand new contract.

Flight attendants walked off the job round 1 a.m. EDT on Saturday. Across the similar time, Air Canada mentioned it will start locking flight attendants out of airports.

Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu met with each the airline and union on Friday evening and urged them to work more durable to achieve a deal “as soon as and for all.”

“It’s unacceptable that such little progress has been made. Canadians are relying on each events to place ahead their finest efforts,” Hajdu mentioned in a press release posted on social media.

Pouliot, the spokesman for the union, earlier mentioned the union had a gathering with Hajdu and representatives from Air Canada earlier Friday night.

“CUPE has engaged with the mediator to relay our willingness to proceed bargaining — even if Air Canada has not countered our final two affords since Tuesday,” he mentioned in an e-mail. “We’re right here to cut price a deal, to not go on strike.”

A whole shutdown will have an effect on roughly 130,000 individuals each day, and round 25,000 Canadians might be stranded overseas every day. Air Canada operates round 700 flights per day.

Keelin Pringnitz, from Ottawa, was returning together with her household from a European trip after they grew to become stranded at London’s Heathrow Airport after flights have been cancelled. She mentioned there was an possibility for the vacationers in line to go the USA, however was informed there would not be any additional help as soon as they landed within the U.S.

“It did not go over nicely with the road. No person actually appeared , all people appeared a bit bit amused virtually on the suggestion, or exasperated, as a result of it’s a bit ridiculous to supply to take stranded passengers to a special nation to strand them there,” she mentioned.

Montreal resident Alex Laroche, 21, and his girlfriend had been saving for his or her European trip since Christmas. Now their $8,000 journey with nonrefundable lodging is on the road as they wait to listen to from Air Canada concerning the destiny of their Saturday evening flight to Good, France.

Laroche mentioned he thought-about reserving new flights with a special service, however he mentioned most of them are practically full and price greater than double the $3,000 they paid for his or her authentic tickets.

“At this level, it is only a ready recreation,” he mentioned.

Laroche mentioned he was initially upset over the union’s resolution to go on strike, however that he had a change of coronary heart after studying about the important thing points on the heart of the contract negotiations, together with the difficulty of wages.

“Their wage is barely livable,” Laroche mentioned.

The airline mentioned it will additionally provide various journey choices by way of different Canadian and overseas airways when potential. Nevertheless it warned that it couldn’t assure quick rebooking as a result of flights on different airways are already full “because of the summer time journey peak.”

“Air Canada is strongly advising affected clients to not go to the airport until they’ve a confirmed ticket on an airline apart from Air Canada or Air Canada Rouge,” the airline mentioned in a press release. “Air Canada deeply regrets the impact the strike is having on clients.”

In anticipation of the strike, the airline started cancelling flights on Thursday and Friday as flight attendants didn’t report back to work.

How lengthy the airline’s planes might be grounded stays to be seen, however Air Canada Chief Working Officer Mark Nasr has mentioned it may take as much as every week to restart operations as soon as a tentative deal is reached absolutely.

Passengers whose journey is impacted might be eligible to request a full refund on the airline’s web site or cell app, in line with Air Canada.

Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Workers have been in contract talks for about eight months, however they’ve but to achieve a tentative deal.

Either side say they continue to be far aside on the difficulty of pay and the unpaid work flight attendants do when planes aren’t within the air.

The airline’s newest provide included a 38% enhance in whole compensation, together with advantages and pensions over 4 years, that it mentioned “would have made our flight attendants the very best compensated in Canada.”

However the union pushed again, saying the proposed 8% elevate within the first yr did not go far sufficient due to inflation.