With striking Air Canada flight attendants refusing to go back to work despite a government order, the airline says it is cancelling all flights until sometime Tuesday afternoon.
Shortly before 4 p.m. on Monday, August 18, the airline said all flights of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge remain suspended due to the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) failing to direct its flight attendant members to resume the performance of their duties as directed by the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB).
Air Canada noted that CIRB has also directed flight attendants to resume the performance of their duties immediately.
“Customers whose flights are cancelled are being notified of the cancellations and offered options that include a full refund, a future travel credit or rebooking on another airline. Those whose flights are cancelled are strongly advised not to go to the airport, unless they have a confirmed booking on a flight by another carrier,” the airline said.
“In response to a labour disruption by CUPE that led to a strike on August 16, Air Canada has been cancelling flights on a rolling basis. At present, all flights by Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge are cancelled until the afternoon (EDT) of August 19, 2025. Air Canada Express flights operated by Jazz or PAL continue to operate as normal.”
The website Flight Aware reports 731 flights were cancelled for today and that another 162 have been cancelled for Tuesday.
Air Canada’s intended restart of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge operations, which have been grounded since August 16 as a result of CUPE’s labour disruption, was prevented yesterday by CUPE leadership’s unlawful strike activities. The airline now estimates 500,000 customers will be disrupted as a result.
The leader of CUPE, Mark Hancock, has said he’d rather risk jail time or fines than buckle to the demands of CIRB.
The union’s defiance is a clear challenge to the authority of new Prime Minister Mark Carney. He urged both sides to solve their differences on Monday morning, but hasn’t said anything since the union refused to obey CIRB’s demand for flight attendants to report to work by noon today.
