Air Canada, the country’s largest airline, began halting flights Thursday morning ahead of a possible strike by flight attendants.
If flight attendants leave work as expected, hundreds of flights are expected to be cancelled by the weekend.
Air Canada and the flight attendant union are struggling to agree to a transaction that will increase compensation for airline workers.
Here’s what we know about labor conflicts and their potential consequences:
What’s going on with Canada Air?
The Montreal-based airline has reached a deadlock with a union representing more than 10,500 flight attendants in a dispute over compensation, despite eight months of negotiations. Both the company and the union issued notices that airline services disruptions begin on Saturday.
What services will be affected?
Air Canada said it will gradually cut flights in three days starting from dozens of cancellations on Thursday to around 500 cancellations by Friday evening. All flights will be suspended by 1am Toronto time (05:00 GMT) on Saturday.
Cargo services will also be affected, but Air Canada relies on contracts with other airlines, so local flights will operate as usual.
However, these partners only handle around 20% of Air Canada’s daily passengers. Air Canada and Air Canada Dalughes are subsidiaries offering low-cost flights, carrying around 130,000 passengers per day.
In response to the expected strike early on Saturday, Air Canada has announced its own “lockout.” This is a strategy that prevents employees from participating in the job to push them up to the negotiation table.
The airline warns that once the lockout begins, it may not be possible to recover the flight quickly if there is time for Toronto (05:30 GMT) at about 1:30am.
Canada Air Chief Operating Officer Mark Nasr explained that the reboot “in the best circumstances it takes a week to complete.”
Why are flight attendants so impressive?
Wages are the main sticking point of negotiation.
The Canadian Civil Service Coalition (CUPE) said negotiators declined an offer to move contract discussions to arbitration as they were unhappy with Canada’s proposed wage increases and other conditions of compensation.
“For the past nine months, we have proposed solid, data-driven proposals for wages and unpaid jobs that are rooted in equity and industry standards,” Wesley Lesosky, president of CUPE’s Air Canada Components, said in a statement. “Air Canada’s response to our proposal reveals one thing: they are not interested in solving these important issues.”
According to the federal report, the airline refused to raise flight attendant salaries to meet industry standards, respond to inflation, or fit federal minimum wage.
Since 2000, Air Canada flight attendants’ wage openings have only risen by $3 per hour, but inflation rose 69% over the same period, the union explained.
We are in solidarity with Air Canada flight attendants who are earning unpaid jobs and poverty wages!
📢Fair salary. The dignity of work. There are no more excuses!
Read more → https://t.co/yqvqewtbpc#aircanadastrike– Cupe Ontario (@cupeontario) August 12, 2025
However, Air Canada said the union rejected the proposal sent Monday.
However, the union challenged the profits of the transaction. Instead, the flight attendant explained that he received a 9% cut in his final contract. This means an 8% increase in the first year of the New Deal means that costs are insufficient.
“It’s effectively a pay cut,” Kapu said in a statement.
The union also claims that Air Canada does not currently provide “ground wages.” This is an industry term that describes the compensation given for all services offered before the plane door closes.
The task includes assistance given to airport travelers, handling luggage and helping travelers settle into their seats as they prepare to push the plane back from the airport gates.
Shanyn Elliott, chairman of the CUPE Strikes Committee, said, “() will not compensate for any of the federally regulated safety checks an hour before boarding.
“We’re doing work that’s not paid for, which is an average of about 35 hours a month.”
The union said it is seeking all salaries for working hours along with increased cost of living.
Ground wages, also known as “boarding wages,” have also been an important issue in US air negotiations, as many airlines do not compensate flight attendants hourly during critical periods before and after flights.
How many passengers will be affected and what kind of reward will they be in return?
The airline serves 64 countries with a fleet of 259 aircraft, and said the closure poses “great risk” to both the company and its employees. The confusion could affect 130,000 passengers daily, including 25,000 Canadians during the summer travel season.
Air Canada has around 430 flights daily between Canada and the United States, reaching over 50 US airports. It also provides domestic services to 50 Canadian airports, with over 500 flights daily.
The airline said passengers whose flights have been cancelled will be notified and will be able to receive a full refund online.
The airline has also arranged with other Canadian and international airlines to provide alternative travel options whenever possible. However, he highlighted that some flight alternatives may be infeasible.
“Given that other carriers are already very full due to the peak summer trips, ensuring that capacity is time-consuming and often becomes impossible immediately,” the airline explained.
How did the government respond?
Air Canada says it is seeking government-led arbitration to resolve the situation.
Under Canadian Labor Law, the government’s Labor Minister has the authority to intervene and trigger the imposition of transactions through the Canadian Labor and Management Commission.
This could force flight attendants to work. The union asked Canadian Prime Minister Mark Kearney to “restrain from intervening.” It argued that government actions would incline negotiations in favor of Canada Air.
“Why do employers plague negotiations when they know that the government will bail them out when negotiations get tough?” the union wrote in a letter posted on social media.
Canadian Labor Minister Patty Hajidhu urged both sides to return to the negotiation table. “To be clear: the deals made at the negotiation table are the best,” Hajidu said.
“I urge both parties to put the differences aside and go back to the negotiation table and get this done now for the many travelers who rely on you,” she added.
Check out my statement on the latest developments between the Cupe flight attendants of Canada Air Canada and Air Canada: pic.twitter.com/hqqj5jdykn
– Patty Hajdu (@pattyhajdu) August 14, 2025
