Air Canada Cancels All Flights: Flight Attendants Go On Strike, Locked Out

A few days ago, I wrote about how Air Canada flight attendants had threatened to go on strike. Well, the strike has officially kicked off, and Air Canada has basically shut down its operations, given that management responded to the strike warning with a lockout notice. Wow.

Air Canada flight attendants are now on strike

For quite some time, Air Canada management and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents the roughly 10,000 flight attendants at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge, have been in negotiations over a new contract.

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Recently, the two parties reached a dead end — flight attendants voted on a strike authorization, and 99.7% of members voted in favor of industrial action. Unlike in the United States, airline labor groups in Canada actually have the power to go on strike relatively easily, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing right now.

Earlier in the week, CUPE issued a 72-hour strike notice, allowing them to go on strike as of Saturday, August 16, 2025. In response to this, Air Canada issued a lockout notice, to mitigate the strike’s customer impact, and allow the airline to shut down in an orderly manner. That’s exactly what has happened — as of roughly 1AM this morning, Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge have suspended all operations.

Note that Air Canada Express flights operated by Jazz and PAL Airlines will continue to operate as normal. However, those carriers only transport roughly 20% of Air Canada’s daily customers. Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge carry roughly 130,000 passengers per day, who are impacted by this industrial action.

If you’re booked on a canceled Air Canada flight, there a couple of things to note:

• Air Canada claims it will attempt to rebook passengers on flights on other airlines, but good luck actually getting through to an agent, given the volume of travelers who need rebooking, plus the limited capacity on other airlines during a busy summer travel period
• If you are on an itinerary that qualifies for EC261 or UK261 compensation, then you’re entitled to a duty of care and cash compensation, as an airline strike isn’t considered an extraordinary circumstance

Why can’t Air Canada and the union come to an agreement?

Air Canada management claims it has been in eight months of good faith negotiations, including soliciting the help of federal conciliators, and an offer to enter binding arbitration. However, the company has been unable to come to an agreement with the union.

Air Canada emphasizes how on August 11, 2025, it tabled a revised comprehensive proposal, which would’ve seen flight attendants get a 38% pay increase over four years. The offer also addressed the issue of ground pay, improved pensions and benefits, increased crew rest, and more.

Here’s how Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau describes this:

We regret the impact a disruption will have on our customers, our stakeholders and the communities we serve. However, the disappointing conduct of CUPE’s negotiators and the union’s stated intention to launch a strike puts us in a position where our only responsible course of action is to provide certainty by implementing an orderly suspension of Air Canada’s and Air Canada Rouge’s operations through a lockout. As we have seen elsewhere in our industry with other labour disruptions, unplanned or uncontrolled shutdowns, such as we are now at risk of through a strike, can create chaos for travellers that is far, far worse.

Our latest offer included a 38 per cent increase in total compensation over four years that would have made our flight attendants the best compensated in Canada, along with provisions for ground pay and other work-life balance, career and pension improvements. At the same time, we asked for no concessions from the union. Given this, while we remain available for discussions with CUPE, we have requested government-directed arbitration as we now view it as the only certain avenue to bring closure to bargaining and mitigate the impact on travellers, business and the Canadian economy.

As you’d expect, the union has a very different take. Here’s how union president Wesley Lesosky describes the motivation behind going on strike:

After nine months of the company delaying at the bargaining table on the fundamental issues – unpaid work and poverty wages – the union asked for and received an unprecedented 99.7% strike mandate from its membership. Flight attendants turned out by the hundreds at airports across the country for a powerful showing of solidarity for their August 11 Day of Action.

Air Canada has seen how determined and united flight attendants are to end unpaid work and win a real cost-of-living increase to wages.

Now, Air Canada has decided they no longer want to negotiate. They want to go to arbitration, rather than stay at the bargaining table and bargain a new contract.

Everyone knows the best deals are negotiated at the bargaining table, not handed down by an outside third-party. Then why does Air Canada want the union to agree to arbitration?

First, arbitrators rely on precedent and the status quo to make their determinations. But Air Canada flight attendants are trying to break the status quo by ending the historic abuse of unpaid work in this industry. Air Canada wants an arbitrator to do their dirty work for them to keep the status quo intact.

Second, an arbitrator’s determination would be final. Members would not get a chance to vote on it. Air Canada wants to go to arbitration because they want to take away our members’ democratic voice.

The union has declined the company’s proposal to preserve the exploitative status quo and take away our members’ voice.

The Air Canada Component of CUPE remains at the bargaining table, ready to negotiate.

We have always been available to negotiate. The union was available to continue discussions while it sought a strike mandate – the company never reached out.

Regarding Air Canada’s claim of a 38% pay increase, here’s how the union responds to that:

Meanwhile, on wages, Air Canada’s offer is below market value, below inflation, and below minimum wage.

1. Air Canada has offered 8% in the first year as a one-time catch-up. Meanwhile, flight attendants have taken a 9% cut to their real wages due to inflation over the course of their last contract since 2015. This offer does not even keep up with inflation – it is, in effect, a pay cut. Air Canada’s offer is below inflation.
2. Air Canada is using misleading “kitchen-sink” figures to make the public believe that flight attendants who rely on food banks and second and third jobs are the ones being greedy. In reality, the company has offered a 17.2% wage increase over four years. Even in year four of Air Canada’s offer, in 2028, Air Canada flight attendants would earn less than competitor airlines in Canada earn today. Air Canada’s offer is below market value.
3. Even with the “best offer” that Air Canada can make, an entry-level Air Canada flight attendant working full-time will still earn less than federal minimum wage. Junior Air Canada flight attendants working full-time (75 credit hours per month) currently earn $1,952 per month pre-taxes. With Air Canada’s first-year catch-up increase of 8%, their earnings would increase to $2,108.16 per month. Meanwhile, a worker earning federal minimum wage at $17.75 per hour would earn $2,840.00 per month pre-taxes. Air Canada’s offer is below minimum wage.

Air Canada has posted billions in profits in recent years. They can afford to pay flight attendants fairly without raising costs for the public.

Everyone can draw their own conclusions, but that’s what the two sides are saying…

Bottom line

Air Canada flight attendants have gone on strike as of Saturday, August 16, 2025. For that matter, the airline has locked out flight attendants, deciding it’s not worth trying to operate during a strike. Air Canada management emphasizes how it has offered flight attendants a 38% increase over the course of four years, but the union states that what has been offered doesn’t even keep up with inflation.

It’s anyone’s guess how long this goes on for, but I certainly hope there’s a resolution soon…

How do you see this Air Canada strike situation playing out?