82 flights cancelled Sunday, Monday and Tuesday

WestJet officials say 82 flights have been cancelled over the next three days due to a sudden strike by unionized airline mechanics.

“Following the union’s blatant efforts to disrupt the travel plans of thousands of Canadians over the July long weekend, WestJet has cancelled a total of 407 flights in order to maintain the stability of its remaining operations.” A declaration released by the company Saturday evening, said.

“WestJet continues to seek intervention while exploring all possible avenues to resolve the issue. »

The statement said additional planes are being parked and there will be just 30 planes operating across its entire network by the end of Sunday.

He said 68 flights on Sunday, 11 flights on Monday and three flights on Tuesday were cancelled.

It was not immediately clear whether other cancellations might occur during the same period. Customers who were due to travel with the airline in the coming days have been advised to check their flight status.

The highest number of flight cancellations was recorded on Saturday, with 282 trips cancelled.

Company officials said 49,000 people were affected by the industrial action, calling the union’s actions “destructive.”

The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) announced that its members stopped work Friday afternoon because the airline’s “unwillingness to negotiate with the union made a strike inevitable.”

The move comes after the federal government issued a ministerial order Thursday calling for binding arbitration, following two weeks of tumultuous talks with the union over a new deal and a vote earlier in June to reject a tentative agreement.

Federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan issued a brief statement Saturday morning saying he was reviewing the Canada Industrial Relations Board’s order and calling it “clearly inconsistent” with the directions he had provided.

But a new statement released later Saturday said he respected the authority of the board, which he said is independent of the government.

In a post on X On Saturday evening, O’Regan said he “told them they needed to work together with the Canada Industrial Relations Board to resolve their differences and reach their first agreement.” His social media posts gave no indication of what the federal government might do in the coming days.

“There is a lot at stake here. Canadians need this problem solved,” he said.

In an update to its 680 members, the union released a letter from the board of directors regarding its decision in which it stated that the ministerial referral “does not have the effect of suspending the right to strike or lock out.” out.”

Sean McVeigh, a WestJet aircraft maintenance engineer who was picketing Terminal 3 at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Saturday, said the strike was an attempt to force the airline to return to “respectful negotiation.”

McVeigh said the union regretted any inconvenience caused to passengers.

“However, the reason they (passengers) may have missed a flight or had to cancel is because WestJet is not respectfully sitting down at the table and negotiating,” he said alongside about 20 others on the picket line.

“We have a lot of responsibility and we would just like to be appreciated financially,” he said.

Passengers at Pearson Airport that CityNews spoke with expressed their concerns.

“It’s pretty, quite anxiety-provoking,” said one traveler.

“I’m disappointed so far. We’ll see where we are in a few hours,” added another traveler.

With documents from The Canadian Press