Air Canada Suspends Plans To Restart Operations

Air Canada suspended its plan to resume limited flying yesterday after a strike halted operations on Saturday.

In a statement, the airline says the move comes after the Canadian Union of Public Employees directed its flight attendant members to defy a direction from the Canadian Industrial Relations Board to return to work.

All operations of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge were suspended Saturday with the airline beginning to pare down flights Thursday and Friday.

CUPE had issued strike notice for some 10-thousand flight attendants and Air Canada followed that with a lockout.

The federal government directed the industrial relations board to order the resumption of activities and directed flight attendants to return to work, ending both CUPE’s strike, and the lockout Air Canada had imposed in response.

The airline said that approximately 240 flights scheduled to operate beginning yesterday afternoon were cancelled. Typically, the carriers operate 700 flights a day.

Air Canada says it will continue to offer those with cancelled flights options, including obtaining a full refund or receiving a credit for future travel.

The carrier will also offer to rebook customers on other carriers, although capacity is currently limited due to the peak summer travel season.

Meanwhile, CUPE says new polling conducted by Abacus Data shows that nearly 9 in 10 Canadians support Air Canada flight attendants’ fight for fair pay – and they want the federal government to back off and let them negotiate it freely and fairly.

In a release, the union says the figures show 88% per cent of Canadians believe flight attendants should be paid for all work-related duties including boarding, delays, and safety checks.

As it stands now, they don’t start to get paid until the plane starts rolling on the runway.

59% believe the federal government should respect flight attendants’ right to take job action – even if it causes travel disruptions.

To learn more, visit Air Canada.