Air Canada could begin shutting down operations and cancelling flights imminently ahead of the strike deadline on Sunday.
Unless a deal is reached by Sunday, Air Canada or the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which represents 5,200 Air Canada pilots, could issue a 72-hour strike or lockout notice.
Business, industry and tourism groups have called on the federal government to intervene before a strike or lockout disrupts air travel.
Air Canada President and CEO Michael Rousseau said in a statement Monday that while there was still time to reach an agreement with the pilots, “Canadians have recently seen the chaos that abrupt airline closures cause for travellers, requiring us to do everything we can to protect our customers from an increasingly likely work stoppage.”
The 72-hour notice period for a closure or strike could begin any time after midnight on Sunday, with operations expected to stop completely on Wednesday, September 18. However, some operations would have to begin to be reduced as early as Friday, the airline said.
Rosseau said 80 per cent of Air Canada passengers could be affected by the work stoppages. The airline said it will begin an “orderly wind-down” of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge operations once a strike or lockout notice is issued.
Duncan Dee, former Air Canada chief operating officer, told Global News: “Air Canada will begin to wind down its operations by moving aircraft closer and closer to its home bases, where they have crews and mechanics available to take care of those aircraft during a disruption, so that when operations restart, they can do so much more quickly, with much less impact on travellers.”
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Air Canada Express flights will continue to operate, with third-party carriers Jazz and PAL Airlines providing these services. However, these regional partners carry only about 20 per cent of Air Canada’s daily customers, many of whom ultimately make stops on Air Canada flights.
The airline said a work stoppage could affect 110,000 passengers a day.
On Thursday, ALPA set up a “strike headquarters” near Toronto Pearson International Airport. The union said in a statement that this was done to support its members in the event of a strike.
Last month, the Pilots have voted overwhelmingly to approve a strike mandate If an agreement on a new contract cannot be reached.
First Officer Charlene Hudy, chair of Air Canada ALPA’s executive board, said in a statement: “Instead of attacking the professional pilots who safely transport their passengers day in and day out, Air Canada should stop threatening to disrupt air travel and come to the negotiating table with serious proposals to keep Canada’s flagship airline competitive in the global aviation marketplace.”
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said his party would “never support” any back-to-work legislation.
At a news conference in Ottawa on Wednesday, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre called for a “fair deal” and for Air Canada to negotiate in “good faith” with unionized workers.
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