Hundreds of anchored flights while industrial action begins

Air Canada has suspended all its flights as a cabin staff strike begins – a move that the airline will disrupt travel plans for around 130,000 passengers per day.

The union representing more than 10,000 Air Canada on -board agents confirmed the industrial action of 72 hours early Saturday morning.

The airline said that it had suspended all thefts, including those under its Red Air Canada Budget arm, and advisable to affected customers not to go to the airport unless you fly with another airline.

Air Canada on -board agents call for higher wages and are paid for work when the planes are on the ground.

The strike came into force at 00:58 HE (04:58 GMT) on Saturday, although Air Canada began to reduce its operations before that. The airline claims that around 500 flights will be affected per day.

On -board agents will picker in the main Canadian airports, where passengers were already trying to get new reservations earlier in the week.

Air Canada, which flies around 180 cities around the world, said that it had “suspended all operations” and that it “strongly advised affected customers not to go to the airport”.

He added that Air Canada Jazz, Pal Airlines and Air Canada Express flights were not affected by the strike.

“Air Canada deeply regrets the effect that the strike has on customers,” he said.

Friday evening, the airline said that it had canceled 623 flights affecting more than 100,000 passengers, as part of a liquidation of operations before the strike.

In contractual negotiations, the airline said it had offered on -board agents an increase of 38% in total compensation over four years, with an increase of 25% in the first year.

The CUPE said that the offer was “below inflation, below the market value, below the minimum wage” and would always leave the unpaid ons for a few hours of work, including boarding and waiting at airports before flights.

The union and the airline publicly exchanged the beards of the other will to conclude an agreement.

Earlier this month, 99.7% of employees represented by the union voted for a strike.

Canadian Minister of Jobs Patty Hajdu has urged Air Canada this week and the Union to return to the negotiating table to avoid a strike.

She also declared in a statement that Air Canada had asked her to refer the dispute to binding arbitration.

The CUPE said that it had negotiated in good faith for more than eight months, but that Canada has rather looked for an arbitration led by the government.

“When we stayed strong together, Air Canada did not come to the table in good faith,” the union said in a statement to its members. “Instead, they called on the federal government to intervene and withdraw these rights.”