More flight cancellations over long weekend due to strike: WestJet

A sudden strike by WestJet’s mechanics union is forcing the airline to cancel more flights over the Canada Day long weekend, disrupting the plans of more than 49,000 travelers.

The Calgary-based airline has already canceled a total of 407 flights over the weekend in an effort to “maintain stability.”

Most flights were canceled Saturday, with 282 trips on WestJet planes canceled.

The travel disruptions come after members of the Fraternal Association of Aircraft Mechanics walked off the job Friday afternoon, saying “WestJet’s refusal to negotiate with the union made a strike inevitable.”

The pressure tactic comes after union members rejected a deal with WestJet earlier this month and after two weeks of tense negotiations between the two sides that resulted in the federal government stepping in and forcing WestJet and the union into binding arbitration.

AMFA management released a letter from the Canada Industrial Relations Board regarding its decision in which it states that the ministerial referral “does not have the effect of suspending the right to strike or lockout.”

WestJet says it is “extremely outraged by these actions and will hold AMFA 100% responsible for the unnecessary stress and costs incurred as a result.”

Federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan, who said the Canada Industrial Relations Board’s order was “clearly inconsistent” with the directions he had provided, intervened again Saturday, asking both sides to work together with the board to reach an agreement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 30, 2024.

– with files from Christopher Reynolds in Montreal

The Canadian Press