Air Canada is gearing up to resume its flight operations on Sunday after the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) intervened at the request of the country’s Jobs Minister, Patty Hajdu. This intervention aims to bring an end to a significant cabin crew strike that resulted in the suspension of approximately 700 daily flights across the airline's network.
In a formal statement, the CIRB instructed Air Canada to recommence its operations, mandating that all flight attendants of Air Canada and its subsidiary, Air Canada Rouge, return to their duties by 2 p.m. ET (6 p.m. GMT). This directive was issued after the government took decisive action on Saturday to halt the strike and enforced binding arbitration to resolve a prolonged contract dispute. This move was particularly sought after by the airline but faced strong opposition from the unionized flight attendants.
Thousands of Air Canada cabin crew members initiated the strike on Saturday, marking the first such action since 1985. This strike followed several months of negotiations for a new contract that ultimately failed to reach an agreement. In anticipation of the strike, Air Canada began canceling flights on Friday, which forced over 100,000 travelers to either scramble for alternative travel arrangements or remain at their current locations.
Air Canada has announced that flights will begin to restart on Sunday evening, although travelers should be aware that some flights may still face cancellations over the next seven to ten days. The airline has indicated that these disruptions are necessary as it works to stabilize its schedule and return to normal operations.
This article has been updated with additional details as the situation continues to evolve.
