Air Canada Flight Attendants Strike Grounds Hundreds of Flights, Sparking Travel Chaos and Government Intervention
Air Canada has cancelled hundreds of flights as flight attendants went on strike, leading to major disruptions for its 130,000 daily passengers. The Canadian government stepped in quickly to end the walkout by ordering binding arbitration, aiming to get operations back on track amid peak summer travel.
Strike Begins, Leading to Widespread Cancellations
Canada’s biggest airline, Air Canada, faced a major labour disruption when its flight attendants started an indefinite strike early on Saturday, 16 August 2025. The walkout, organised by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents about 10,000 cabin crew members, kicked off at 00:58 Eastern Time. In response, Air Canada locked out the workers at 01:30 Eastern Time, effectively shutting down most operations.
The airline had been preparing for this by slowly cutting back flights since 13 August, after both sides issued 72-hour notices. By Friday evening, 623 flights were already scrapped, affecting over 100,000 travellers. On Saturday, the full daily schedule of around 700 flights was cancelled, including those by its low-cost arm, Air Canada Rouge. However, flights run by Air Canada Express, handled by outside operators, stayed in the air.
This strike is the first by Air Canada flight attendants since 1985, marking a rare event in the airline’s history. It has left passengers stranded at airports across Canada and beyond, with picket lines set up at key spots like Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, and Vancouver. Hundreds of crew members joined the protests, highlighting their grievances.
Air Canada flies to 180 cities around the world, making the shutdown a big blow to international travel. In the United States alone, about 27,000 passengers a day rely on Air Canada for connections to Europe and Asia. By mid-morning Saturday, data showed 662 cancellations, split between 342 domestic and 320 international routes.
The company urged people with tickets not to head to airports unless they had bookings on other airlines. “Air Canada deeply regrets the effect the strike is having on customers,” it said in a statement. To help, the airline rolled out a goodwill policy, letting affected travellers rebook without extra fees or get credits for later trips. It also tried to shift passengers to other carriers, but spots were tight because of the busy summer season.
Union Demands Focus on Pay and Ground Work
At the heart of the dispute are calls for better wages and pay for ground duties. Flight attendants say they are not compensated for time spent helping passengers board or handling tasks between flights. This is a common setup in the industry, where pay often starts only when the plane is in motion.
CUPE has slammed Air Canada’s offers as too low, below inflation and market rates. The union wants wage hikes to match those at rivals like Air Transat, where staff got a 30% increase over five years. They also turned down pleas from the government and airline to settle through arbitration, preferring to negotiate directly.
Air Canada laid out its latest proposal, saying a top flight attendant could earn an average of CAN$87,000 (about US$65,000) by 2027. It claimed the deal included a 38% rise in total pay over four years, with 12% to 16% more per hour in the first year, making its crew the best paid in Canada.
Experts like Rafael Gomez from the University of Toronto’s Centre for Industrial Relations noted that the union ran a smart campaign, spotlighting the unfairness of unpaid ground work. “An average passenger might think, ‘I’m waiting to board, and there’s a flight attendant helping me, but they’re not getting paid for that,’” he explained. Gomez predicted the stoppage would not drag on, given the high costs during peak season.
The union built strong support, with 99.7% of members voting for the strike. CUPE leaders, like Wesley Lesosky, president of the Air Canada component, stressed that the action was about fair treatment after years of concessions.
Government Steps In to Halt the Disruption
By Saturday afternoon, the Canadian government acted fast to stop the chaos. Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu used powers under Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to direct the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to step in. The board was told to order the workers back on the job and impose binding arbitration to sort out the contract.
This means an outside arbitrator will decide on the new deal, and the old agreement stays in place until then.
Hajdu said the move was needed to protect Canada’s economy and people, pointing to the harm from stranded travellers and delays in moving goods like medicines. “At a time when Canada is dealing with unprecedented pressures on our critical economic supply chains, the disruption of national air passenger travel and cargo transport services would cause immediate and extensive harm to all Canadians,” echoed a warning from the Business Council of Canada.
The union hit back, calling it a blow to their rights and accusing the government of siding with the airline. They said the strike would end only once the CIRB’s notice arrives, which might take 24 to 48 hours. Air Canada warned that getting flights going again could take five to 10 days, even after the order.
Hajdu denied being against unions, saying the deadlock left no choice. Air Canada had asked for this help earlier in the week. Meanwhile, WestJet, Canada’s second-biggest airline, added extra flights to help ease the strain.
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