Air Canada Jazz and PAL Airlines flights continue to operate as usual

AIR Canada on Friday said that it has suspended all operations of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge due to a strike by its 10,000 flight attendants represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). The strike took effect at 12:58 a.m. Eastern Time on August 16.

Flights by Air Canada Express, which are operated by third-party airlines, are not affected.

Air Canada said that CUPE served it the statutory 72-hour strike notice on August 13. The airline has since been gradually reducing its schedule of approximately 700 daily flights to manage the labour disruption created by CUPE’s strike notice, while working diligently to reach a new, negotiated collective agreement and avoid further labour disruption. Approximately 130,000 customers will be impacted each day that the strike continues.

Air Canada is strongly advising affected customers not to go to the airport unless they have a confirmed ticket on an airline other than Air Canada or Air Canada Rouge. Air Canada will notify customers with imminent travel of additional cancelled flights and their options. For those customers due to travel soon whose flights are not yet cancelled, Air Canada has put in place a goodwill policy to allow them to rebook their travel or obtain a credit for future travel. For more information customers should visit aircanada.com/action.

Air Canada said it deeply regrets the effect the strike is having on customers.