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Air Canada Flight Attendants Ignore Federal Back-to-Work Order

Carrier scrapped plans for an operational relaunch Sunday.

A 737 Max 8 bound for Air Canada is stored at Boeing Field. [AirlineGeeks/Katie Zera]
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Key Takeaways:

  • Air Canada flight attendants, represented by CUPE, are defying a government-issued return-to-work order, insisting on higher wages and compensation for unpaid work.
  • This ongoing strike has forced Air Canada to suspend most operations (excluding Air Canada Express), impacting approximately 130,000 travelers daily and leading the airline to suspend its profit forecasts.
  • Air Canada has deemed the union's defiance "illegal," while the Canadian government imposed binding arbitration and ordered a return to work to prevent significant economic and travel disruption.
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Air Canada called off plans to resume flights Sunday as its striking flight attendants announced they will defy a government-issued return-to-work order.

The carrier, Canada’s largest, initially signaled it would restart operations Sunday afternoon after the Canadian Industrial Relations Board directed its roughly 10,000 flight attendants to abandon their strike and return to work. But the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents the flight attendants, said it will not comply as long as members’ demands for higher wages remain unmet.

Zach Vasile

Zach Vasile is a writer and editor covering news in all aspects of aviation. He has reported for and contributed to the Manchester Journal Inquirer, the Hartford Business Journal, the Charlotte Observer, and the Washington Examiner, with his area of focus being the intersection of business and government policy.

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