Air Canada has sparked massive fury after it suspended all operations and stranded thousands of passengers following a massive strike by unionized flight attendants.
The airline has locked out 10,000 flight attendants and was forced to ground planes after staff walked out amid a bitter contract dispute.
Air Canada, in a statement Saturday, declared the move was ‘necessary’ after the union called for a 72-hour strike which will impact 130,000 customers daily.
The industrial action began on Saturday at around 1am ET and immediately saw all 700 flights per day the airline offers cancelled.
As of 10am, more than 13,000 Air Canada flights had been delayed and 988 canceled, according to FlightAware tracking data.
The airline has ‘strongly’ advised passengers not to travel to the airport and doubled down on its commitment to ‘negotiate the renewal of its collective agreement’ with the union.
But travelers were outraged by the statement, arguing online that Air Canada is ‘treating customers with total disdain’ and ‘refusing to take responsibility for its own shortcomings in labor relations’.
Others stood by the striking workers and demanded the airline needs to ‘pay flight attendants fairly’.
Air Canada flight attendants picket at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Saturday
Passengers wait in line to speak to Air Canada representatives to see if they can reschedule flights at the Pierre-Elliot Trudeau Airport in Montreal, Quebec
People hold placards as a strike begins after the union representing Air Canada’s 10,000 flight attendants failed to reach an agreement with the airline, at Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Dorval, Quebec on Saturday morning
Air Canada’s unionized flight attendants walked off the job early Saturday morning, leaving airports across the country in chaos.
The complete shutdown will impact about 130,000 people a day, and some 25,000 Canadians may be stranded abroad daily.
Air Canada operates around 700 flights per day and is the foreign carrier with the largest number of flights to the US.
The airline said it would also offer alternative travel options through other Canadian and foreign airlines when possible.
But it warned that it could not guarantee immediate rebooking because flights on other airlines are already full ‘due to the summer travel peak’.
Furious passengers have now taken to social media to criticize the air carrier for its ‘horrible attitude’ and alleged poor handling of labor relations.
‘Stop deflecting and pay up you p****s. You are 100 percent responsible for this work stoppage,’ one X user wrote.
‘Bro please just pay your flight attendants fairly,’ another urged. ‘I swear to god if I’m stuck in Moncton New Brunswick I’m going to commit an act of unspeakable evil.’
‘Air Canada refusing to take accountability for its own shortcomings in labour relations. Very poor framing,’ one user added.
Another echoed: ‘Flights being cancelled everywhere. They are treating customers with total disdain This is what happens when a country is run by a handful of corporate people. No competition anywhere.’
People hold picket signs outside Terminal 1 at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Saturday morning after 10,000 flight attendants and the airline failed to reach a contract deal
Travelers walk past striking Air Canada flight attendants at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Saturday
Passengers wait in line to speak to Air Canada representatives to see if they can reschedule flights at the Pierre-Elliott Trudeau Airport in Montreal, Quebec
A pilot joins protesters as a strike begins after the union representing Air Canada’s 10,000 flight attendants failed to reach an agreement with the airline, at Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Dorval, Quebec
Flight attendants are seeking changes which would see them be paid for time spent on the ground between flights and helping passengers board.
The feud escalated Friday, after the union turned down the airline’s request to enter into government-directed arbitration, which would eliminate its right to strike and allow a third-party mediator to decide the terms of a new contract.
Canadian Union of Public Employees spokesman Hugh Pouliot confirmed the strike has started after no deal was reached and operations were halted shortly after.
Air Canada said it planned to begin locking flight attendants out of airports as the walkout commenced.
Canada’s Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu met with both the airline and union on Friday night and urged them to work harder to them to reach a deal ‘once and for all’.
‘It is unacceptable that such little progress has been made. Canadians are counting on both parties to put forward their best efforts,’ Hajdu said in a statement posted on social media.
Pouliot, the spokesman for the union, earlier said the union had a meeting with Hajdu and representatives from Air Canada earlier Friday evening.
‘CUPE has engaged with the mediator to relay our willingness to continue bargaining – despite the fact that Air Canada has not countered our last two offers since Tuesday,’ he said in a email. ‘We’re here to bargain a deal, not to go on strike.’
Furious passengers have now taken to social media to criticize the air carrier for its ‘horrible attitude’ and alleged poor handling of labor relations
Hundreds of Air Canada flights have been cancelled after the airline suspended all operations due to a strike
Cancelled and delayed Air Canada flights are seen on the departure board at Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Dorval, Que., Friday, Aug. 15, 2025
Travelers wait in line for the next available agent at the Air Canada counter in Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Dorval, Quebec
Montreal resident Alex Laroche, 21, and his girlfriend had been saving since Christmas for their European vacation.
Their $8,000 trip with nonrefundable lodging is on the line as they wait to hear from Air Canada about the fate of their Saturday night flight to Nice, France.
The length of the strike is yet to be determined, but Air Canada Chief Operating Officer Mark Nasr has said it could take up to a week to fully restart operations once a tentative deal is reached.
Passengers whose travel is impacted will be eligible to request a full refund on the airline’s website or mobile app, according to Air Canada.
The airline said it would also offer alternative travel options through other Canadian and foreign airlines when possible.
But it warned that it could not guarantee immediate rebooking because flights on other airlines are already full ‘due to the summer travel peak.’
Laroche said he considered booking new flights with a different carrier, but he said most of them are nearly full and cost more than double the $3,000 they paid for their original tickets.
‘At this point, it´s just a waiting game,’ he said.
Laroche said he was initially upset over the union´s decision to go on strike, but that he had a change of heart after reading about the key issues at the center of the contract negotiations, including the issue of wages.
‘Their wage is barely livable,’ Laroche said.
The industrial action began on Saturday at around 1am ET and immediately saw almost 700 flights cancelled
Around 130,000 people could be left stranded for every day the strike continues
Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees have been in contract talks for about eight months, but they have yet to reach a tentative deal.
Both sides say they remain far apart on the issue of pay and the unpaid work flight attendants do when planes aren´t in the air.
The airline´s latest offer included a 38 percent increase in total compensation, including benefits and pensions over four years, that it said ‘would have made our flight attendants the best compensated in Canada.’
But the union pushed back, saying the proposed 8 percent raise in the first year didn´t go far enough because of inflation.
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