Air Canada plans to cancel at least 500 flights through Friday and shut down operations completely by Saturday morning ahead of an expected strike by 10,000 of the airline’s flight attendants.
If Canada’s No. 1 airline grinds to a halt, the service disruption could affect up to 130,000 people per day at the height of the nation’s summer travel season.
Company executives and the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents 10,000 flight attendants, blamed each other for the impasse. Air Canada leaders have asked the Canadian government to send the contract dispute to binding arbitration.
“A negotiation requires two parties to be present, but Air Canada appears to be missing in action,” the union said Wednesday night in a press release. “The airline has been absent from the bargaining table for nearly a full day.”
Air Canada management said the union’s most recent proposals were “meaningless” and “unsustainable offers,” according to the CBC.
The airline began canceling flights scheduled for Thursday night, focusing on long-haul international flights. Only nine Air Canada flights were canceled as of Thursday afternoon, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.
But company leaders said about 500 flights would be canceled on Friday, setting up a complete shutdown of the airline on Saturday.
Air Canada accounts for 41% of Canadian air travel, according to government data. The airline flies hundreds of daily flights to and from the U.S.
With News Wire Services
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