Nearly 300 Air Canada flights have been cancelled ahead of a scheduled strike by the company’s unionised flight attendants.
“As of 12 pm on Aug. 15, 2025, this is the operational wind down impact due to the impending CUPE strike: Total flights cancelled: | 294 People impacted: 55,726,” Air Canada wrote on X.
Canada’s largest carrier has said it expects to cancel 500 flights by the end of the day, ahead of a threatened strike just before 1:00am ET on Saturday.
The carrier’s 10,000 flight attendants are gearing up to walk off the job over stalled contract talks. The union is demanding higher wages and compensation for unpaid work, according to Reuters.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents Air Canada’s 10,000 flight attendants, said that in addition to wage increases, it wants to address uncompensated ground work, including during the boarding process.
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“An average passenger, not familiar with common industry practice, could think, ‘I’m waiting to board the plane and there’s a flight attendant helping me, but they’re technically not being paid for that work,’” Rafael Gomez, who heads the University of Toronto’s Center for Industrial Relations, told AFP.
He added that it is “common practice, even around the world,” to compensate flight attendants based on their time in the air.
Air Canada asks Canadian govt to intervene
According to Bloomberg, Air Canada has asked the Canadian government to send the parties to binding arbitration, which would force flight attendants back to work and eventually lead to a final determination.
The union, affiliated with the Canadian Union of Public Employees, however, has asked Prime Minister Mark Carney “to refrain from intervening in this constitutionally protected process for workers to be able to freely negotiate a collective agreement with their employer.”
Patty Hajdu, Canada’s labour minister, said in a statement posted to social media that “deals that are made at the bargaining table are the best ones”, according to Bloomberg.
“I urged both parties to put their differences aside, come back to the bargaining table and get this done now for the many travelers who are counting on you,” Hajdu said.
