A strike of thousands of Air Canada flight attendees caused travel chaos and hundreds of flight cancellations throughout the country on Saturday, including 24 at the Los Angeles International Airport and two at the John Wayne airport.
The Canadian government intervened quickly on Saturday morning, closing the strike by imposing binding arbitration and forcing flight attendees to return to work.
“Now it has been clear that this dispute will not be resolved at the table”, Canada Labor Minister Patty Hajdu said in a statement, Add that the government must act to preserve stability and supply chains.
The strike began around 10 pm on Friday and was brought by the Union of Public Employees of Canada, which represents approximately 10,000 hostesses on Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge. The dispute was linked to contract negotiations on unpaid work and low wages, According to a statement of the union.
Air Canada operates around 700 flights per day and began liquidating the operations two days ago in advance of the planned strike, at that time estimating that it would affect about 130,000 clients.
The airline said He would notify customers on canceled flights of their options, saying that he deeply regrets the effect of the labor dispute.
An independent industrial relations Board will review the dispute in the next two days. According to Hajdu, he could carry Air Canada from five to 10 days to return to regular services.
Canada is no stranger to air travel attacks. Last year, Westjet Airlines pilots, the second largest airline in the country behind Air Canada, threatened to attack a new contract. The same year, a aircraft mechanics union was on strike on wages, which led to hundreds of Westjet flight cancellations.
Air travel attacks have also appeared in the United States. Around 500 Spirit Airlines pilots declared a strike for five days in 2010, which led to hundreds of flight cancellations. In 2023, Lax workers voted to authorize a strike on positions in contract negotiations.
