Air Canada Strike Grounds Flights, Strands Travelers Amid Peak Season

TORONTO — Air Canada and its low-cost subsidiary, Air Canada Rouge, have suspended all operations, grounding their entire fleet and canceling hundreds of flights as a strike by 10,000 flight attendants began early Saturday morning. The work stoppage, which has plunged the peak summer travel season into chaos, is a result of a long-standing contract dispute over pay, unpaid work, and compensation.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents the airline’s cabin crew, initiated the strike at 12:58 a.m. Eastern Time after months of negotiations with the airline failed to produce a new collective agreement. With a near-unanimous strike mandate from its members, the union is demanding significant changes, arguing that current wages are "barely livable" and have not kept pace with inflation.

A central point of contention is compensation for unpaid ground duties. The union asserts that flight attendants are not paid for crucial safety-related work performed during boarding, deplaning, and other ground-based tasks—a practice the union has labeled "unpaid work." Air Canada’s latest offer, which included a 38% total compensation increase over four years and a new provision for some ground pay, was rejected by the union, which called the offer "below inflation".

The strike's immediate impact on travelers has been severe. Air Canada, which normally transports approximately 130,000 customers per day, had already begun a phased "wind-down" of its operations in the days leading up to the strike, canceling hundreds of flights and advising passengers not to come to the airport without a confirmed booking on another airline. The airline has warned that the shutdown could leave an estimated 25,000 Canadians stranded abroad.

For affected customers, Air Canada has offered several options:

• A full refund for canceled flights.
• The ability to rebook their travel for free on a later date, between August 21 and September 12.
• The possibility of being rebooked on other carriers, though the airline has cautioned that availability is extremely limited due to the high demand of the summer travel season.

The duration of the strike remains uncertain. Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu has urged both sides to return to the bargaining table, emphasizing that the best agreements are reached through negotiation. While the airline had requested government-directed binding arbitration to resolve the dispute, the union rejected this proposal, stating its preference to negotiate a deal that its members can vote on.

Air Canada’s Chief Operating Officer, A. Mark Nasr, has stated that even if a deal is reached soon, it could take a full week to fully restart operations, leaving thousands of travelers in limbo and creating a ripple effect across the country's travel infrastructure.