Air Canada remained grounded on Monday as flight attendants refused a government order to return to work, leading the government to declare the strike illegal.
“The members of the union’s bargaining unit are directed to resume the performance of their duties immediately and to refrain from engaging in unlawful strike activities,” the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) said in a written statement, according to the Associated Press.
Both Air Canada and its low-cost subsidiary Air Canada Rouge shuttered their operations on Saturday as 10,000 flight attendants walked off the job. (Regional Air Canada Express flights, which are operated by Jazz Aviation and PAL Airlines, were not expected to be affected.)
The labor board had previously ordered flight attendants to return to work by Sunday afternoon, but the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) refused. Air Canada had initially been poised to resume some operations late Sunday, before postponing the restart to Monday.
It was unclear, however, what the airline’s plans were as of Monday afternoon, nor what recourse the government would have if flight attendants still refused to return to work. The union did not immediately respond, although union management can be arrested and union members can face steep fines, according to The Guardian. The union previously characterized the government’s attempt to end the strike by imposing binding arbitration as unconstitutional.
Even if the strike is resolved quickly, travelers should expect to see impacts continue for days: Air Canada warned that once flights do resume, it would still “take several days before its operations return to normal.”
In a previous report from Reuters, the airline’s chief operating officer said it could take a week to fully restart operations — even after a deal to end the strike.
“It’s simply not the kind of system that we can start or stop at the push of a button,” Mark Nasr, Air Canada’s executive VP and chief operations officer, said Thursday. “So in order to have a safe and orderly wind down, we need to begin now.”
Air Canada typically operates more than 720 flights daily, according to aviation data firm Cirium, including around 200 daily flights between the U.S. and Canada. The carrier had begun gradually winding down its operations last week after the CUPE issued a 72-hour strike notice on Wednesday.
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“Air Canada deeply regrets the effect the strike is having on customers,” the airline said in a statement.
The airline said up to 130,000 passengers would be affected each day of a stoppage. The strike comes at the peak of the summer travel season, and as families prepare for school to restart after the summer break.
The strike is occurring because flight attendants and the airline failed to reach an agreement over compensation for cabin crew. A key sticking point has been whether — and how much — flight attendants are paid when the plane is on the ground, such as during boarding and deplaning, according to CTV News.
What Air Canada passengers need to know
With little clarity on how the current situation will play out, passengers with flights booked on Air Canada should be prepared for cancellations.
Air Canada issued a preemptive travel waiver allowing passengers with flights between Aug. 15 and Aug. 22 to change their flights to another date between Aug. 23 and Sept. 30 without any fare differences. Travelers can also cancel their flights altogether and get travel credits for any unused flights in their itinerary.
If you are scheduled to travel on those dates and do not rebook, Air Canada said that it will attempt to rebook you on a flight with a different airline; however, it warned that capacity is extremely limited and your ticket will most likely be cancelled. The airline will issue you a refund once your flight is cancelled.
The airline said it will notify passengers if their flight is cancelled — but even if you don’t receive a notification, double-check your flight status before heading to the airport.
United Airlines, which codeshares with Air Canada through the Star Alliance network, issued a travel waiver allowing customers with flights to Canada scheduled Aug. 15-20 to rebook with no fees for travel by Aug. 27.
Note that both waivers could be extended depending on the length of the strike and the time it takes Air Canada to fully resume its operations once the stoppage ends.
If your travel is disrupted, be sure to check in with your travel insurance or credit card, which may cover some incurred expenses. If you don’t have insurance, Air Canada will not cover things like hotels or meals. According to the Associated Press, Canadian regulations do not consider cancellations caused by a strike to fall under the airline’s control, meaning customers are not entitled to compensation.
Stay tuned to TPG for more on the strike as the situation develops.
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