Thousands of travellers scramble after WestJet mechanics strike leads to flight cancellations

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Thousands of air travellers across the country had their Canada Day long weekend plans disrupted Saturday after WestJet Airlines cancelled more than 350 flights following an unexpected strike by its unionized mechanics.

WestJet said more than 30,000 passengers were affected by flight disruptions Saturday, and an additional 250,000 travellers could be affected if the strike continues through the long weekend.

Hundreds of WestJet mechanics walked off the job Friday evening following a strike notice issued by their union, the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA).

Travelers crowded around the WestJet kiosk at Terminal 3 at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Saturday, anxiously waiting to find out if their flights had been canceled.

Villamor Torres and Mary Jane Herrera headed to the airport after having trouble rebooking their cancelled flight over the phone. The Toronto couple were looking forward to starting their Cayman Islands vacation Saturday when they received an email at 9:40 a.m. informing them their flight was cancelled.

“We’re trying to figure out what we should do. We’re in the process of getting a new flight, but they said if we get a new flight, they won’t compensate us,” Herrera said.

At the airport, the confusion increased further. “They say they are going to rebook us on a new flight, but when we ask them which one, they don’t tell us,” Mr. Torres said.

“It’s chaos,” said Amy Morris, who was visiting the country for the first time from Atlanta, Georgia, with her family. “We had a hike planned for tomorrow in Banff, we’re losing at least the whole first day … it’s not a good introduction to Canada.”

The family of four was headed to Calgary when they learned of the cancellation while on a connecting flight to Toronto. “We’re not getting any information from WestJet. They said we’d get rebooked in a few hours, but we haven’t heard anything,” Morris said. “It was the last family vacation, the kids are moving out of state and this was supposed to be our last hurrah.”

Some travellers arriving at Pearson were pleasantly surprised to find that their WestJet flights had not been cancelled.

“We’ve had no problems with our flight so far,” said Dave Johnson, president of the Ontario Bowling Association, who was heading to Winnipeg for a national championship with 40 other bowlers. “They’ve already checked our bags … I thought they’d picket and block the doors.”

Sean McVeigh, a WestJet aircraft maintenance engineer who was protesting at Pearson Terminal 3 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 at the negotiating table,” he said alongside about twenty other people on the picket line. “We take on a lot of responsibility and we would just like to be appreciated financially,” he said.

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WestJet said another 150 flights could be canceled by the end of Saturday if no solution is found to the strike issue.

“We are extremely outraged by these actions and will hold AMFA 100 percent responsible for the unnecessary stress and costs incurred as a result,” WestJet Airlines President Diederik Pen said in a statement.

The union said WestJet’s “unwillingness” to negotiate made the strike inevitable and accused the airline of insinuating retaliation against union members.

The country’s second-largest airline has called for immediate intervention from federal Labor Minister Seamus O’Regan and the Canada Industrial Relations Board.

On Saturday, O’Regan said he was reviewing a decision by the industrial relations board to refer a dispute between WestJet and AMFA to binding arbitration – a process in which a third party deliberates on the terms of a collective agreement.

“I will take additional steps to protect the interests of the employer, the union and all Canadians travelling during this national holiday weekend,” O’Regan said in a statement posted on X.

But a new statement later in the day said he respected the authority of the board, which he said is independent of the government. He plans to meet with both sides later Saturday, he added.

Airline CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech blamed the situation on what he called a “rogue union from the United States” trying to make inroads into Canada.

Von Hoensbroech said that, as far as the airline was concerned, negotiations with the union ended once the minister referred the dispute to binding arbitration.

“This makes the strike totally absurd, because the reason we are striking is to put pressure on the negotiating table,” he said. “If there is no negotiating table, it makes no sense, there should not be a strike. »

He said the union rejected a contract offer that would have made the airline’s mechanics the “highest paid in the country.”

Regardless of the outcome of the contract dispute, Gábor Lukács, a Canadian air passenger rights advocate, says WestJet has a legal obligation to provide passengers whose flights have been cancelled with a reasonable and timely alternative.

“Under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, they have to reschedule you on another airline or buy a ticket from a competitor,” he said, adding that this should be done within the first few hours after a canceled flight. “If WestJet cannot be reached for several hours, they are not fulfilling their obligation.”

Passengers who cannot join the airline or are not offered a clear alternative travel plan should book a flight at their own expense and send the invoice to WestJet, Lukacs recommended. Most importantly, “they must document every message and exchange with the airline.”

With reporting from The Canadian Press.