MONTRÉAL/CMEDIA: Plans to restart operations today by Air Canada have been suspended following refusal of the flight attendants to comply with a federal return-to-work order.
In a statement, the airline wrote that flights would resume Monday evening, and that approximately 240 flights slated to operate Sunday had been cancelled.
“Air Canada said it has suspended its plan to resume limited flying by Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge today after the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) illegally directed its flight attendant members to defy a direction from the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to return to work…All operations of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge were suspended August 16, 2025…In accordance with the Government of Canada’s direction, the CIRB ordered a resumption of our activities and directed our flight attendants to return to work…Approximately 240 flights scheduled to operate beginning this afternoon have now been cancelled. Typically, the carriers operate 700 flights a day.”
The statement also said that the
“Customers whose flights are cancelled will be notified and are strongly advised not to go to the airport unless they have confirmed flights on other airlines. Air Canada will offer those with cancelled flights options, including obtaining a full refund or receiving a credit for future travel…Air Canada Express flights operated by Jazz or PAL continue to operate as normal.”
Following unsuccessful labour negotiations between Air Canada and CUPE. Air Canada operations were initially suspended overnight Saturday and gave way to a 10,000-person strike.
Unpaid time worked by flight attendants during ground delays, boarding and deplaning were among the complaints brought by the union.
Following hours of demonstrations and hundreds of cancelled flights, federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu ordered operations to resume.
Hajdu also said that the union’s prior collective agreement should be extended until binding arbitration could determine a final outcome of the dispute.
CUPE in a Saturday afternoon statement accused the Mark Carney government of dealing “incalculable damage to the Charter and workers’ rights.””We will continue to fight on the picket lines, on the streets, at the bargaining table, in the courts, and in Parliament, until the injustice of unpaid work is done for good. Workers will win – despite the best effort of the Liberal government and their corporate friends,” said CUPE National President Mark Hancock. “
“This is absolutely shameful and a blatant betrayal…not just unjust, it’s a disgraceful misuse of power that reeks of systemic bias and corporate favoritism,” said CUPE National Secretary-Treasurer Candace Rennick.
On Sunday morning, the Air Canada Component of CUPE said it would not comply with Hajdu’s order, and would instead remain on strike.
“We invite Air Canada back to the table to negotiate a fair deal, rather than relying on the federal government to do their dirty work for them when bargaining gets a little bit tough,” it reads.
