Air Canada says it is restarting flights Sunday
How did your country report this? Share your view in the comments.
Diverging Reports Breakdown
Air Canada staff refuse government back-to-work order with plans to restart flights now at risk
Air Canada flight attendants will not return to work on Sunday, union says. Airline says union is defying government order to resume operations by 2 p.m. ET. Canadian Union of Public Employees calls government move a “blatant betrayal” of workers’ rights. Air Canada says about 240 flights that were scheduled to resume on Sunday have been cancelled, and that flights will resume as soon as the union agrees to a new contract is reached. The strike began Saturday after the union refused to accept a government offer to settle the dispute through arbitration. The union says it will continue to fight the government’s decision.
“We will be challenging this blatantly unconstitutional order that violates the charter rights of 10,000 flight attendants, 70 percent of whom are women, and 100 percent of whom are forced to do hours of unpaid work by their employer every time they come to work,” the Canadian Union of Public Employees said in a statement to media outlets. “We remain on strike. We demand a fair, negotiated contract and to be compensated for all hours worked.”
Air Canada, whose collective agreement with the flight attendants expired in March, said earlier Sunday the Canada Industrial Relations Board had directed the carrier to resume operations and have the striking workers return to their posts by 2 p.m. Eastern time.
The independent board’s move came after federal labor minister Patty Hajdu intervened in the dispute on Saturday, ordering the board to use binding arbitration to end the dispute.
In a statement, Air Canada said the union was “illegally” defying the government return-to-work orders, and that approximately 240 flights that had been scheduled to resume on Sunday had been cancelled.
Union says flight attendants will not return to work and claims industrial board’s return-to-work order violates charter rights, while airline claims refusing order is illegal (AP)
“The airline will resume flights as of tomorrow evening,” Air Canada added.
The Independent has contacted Hajdu for comment.
The union, which went on strike early Saturday after turning down a request from the airline to enter into government-directed arbitration the day before, was sharply critical of the government’s push for binding arbitration.
Canadian Union of Public Employees National Secretary-Treasurer Candace Rennick called the step a “blatant betrayal” of workers’ rights and accused the Liberal government of tipping the scales towards Air Canada.
“The government’s decision to intervene on behalf of an already wildly profitable employer, while a predominantly female workforce fights tooth and nail for a path out of poverty, is not just unjust, it’s a disgraceful misuse of power that reeks of systemic bias and corporate favoritism,” she said in a statement.
“I don’t think anyone’s in the mood to go back to work,” Lillian Speedie, vice-president of CUPE Local 4092, told the CBC outside Toronto Pearson International Airport on Sunday.
“To legislate us back to work 12 hours after we started? I’m sorry, snowstorms have shut down Air Canada for longer than we were allowed to strike.”
This is a breaking news story and will be updated with new information.
Air Canada now says it will restart flights Monday as union continues strike
The Canadian Union of Public Employees says it will challenge an order by the Canada Industrial Relations Board to return to work by 2 p.m. ET. Air Canada initially said the first flights will resume Sunday evening, but that it will take several days before its operations return to normal. The union has said its main sticking points revolve around wages that have been outpaced by inflation during its previous 10-year contract, along with unpaid labour when planes aren’t in the air. More than 700 Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights were cancelled amid the work stoppage, the airline said. The federal government said Saturday that it was ordering the airline and its flight attendants back to work, ending a strike and lockout after less than 12 hours.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees says it will challenge an order by the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to return to work by 2 p.m. ET.
Read more:
Air Canada initially said the first flights will resume Sunday evening, but that it will take several days before its operations return to normal and then issued a statement revising that, saying flights will now resume on Monday night.
Air Canada Suspends Plans to Restart Operations after CUPE Defies CIRB Directive to Return to Work: https://t.co/oCfI8tNKx9 pic.twitter.com/RVkeJFEDHe
— Air Canada (@AirCanada) August 17, 2025
“Our members are not going back to work,” Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) national president Mark Hancock said outside the Toronto Airport on Sunday. “We are saying no.”
The federal government said Saturday that it was ordering the airline and its flight attendants back to work, ending a strike and lockout after less than 12 hours.
Hancock said the union received notice from the CIRB late Saturday, informing them of the impending return to work. He said the union felt the “whole process has been unfair.”
“Air Canada has really refused to bargain with us, and they refused to bargain with us because they knew this government would come in on their white horse and try and save the day,” he said.
Air Canada said on Sunday that the CIRB has ordered the terms of the collective agreement between the union and the airline that expired on March 31 be extended until a new agreement is reached.
CUPE has accused federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu of caving to Air Canada’s demands.
Air Canada had previously asked Hajdu to order the parties to enter a binding arbitration process. But intervention was something she resisted until Saturday, when she said it became clear the two sides were at an impasse.
CUPE maintained it opposed arbitration, instead preferring to solve the impasse through bargaining.
The union accused Air Canada of refusing to bargain in good faith due to the likelihood of the government stepping in and imposing arbitration.
The union has said its main sticking points revolve around wages that have been outpaced by inflation during its previous 10-year contract, along with unpaid labour when planes aren’t in the air.
CUPE announced it is calling a national day of action and will have demonstrators outside of the Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary airports this morning.
On Friday night, CUPE announced its members were heading to the picket lines after being unable to reach an eleventh-hour deal with the airline, while Air Canada locked out its agents about 30 minutes later due to the strike action.
More than 700 Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights were cancelled amid the work stoppage, the airline said.
Flights by Air Canada Express, operated by third-party airlines Jazz and PAL, were not affected.
The airline says customers whose flights were cancelled and did not travel or accept a refund will be notified and provided with a new itinerary.
— with files from CKOM News
Read more:
Air Canada suspends restart plans after flight attendants union defies return to work order
NEW: Air Canada now says it will resume flights Monday evening. NEW: The Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered airline staff back to work by 2 p.m. The union representing 10,000 flight attendants said it will defy a return to work order. Air Canada and CUPE have been in contract talks for about eight months, but they have yet to reach a tentative deal. The shutdown of Canada’s largest airline early Saturday was impacting about 130,000 people a day, an analytics firm says.. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce welcomed the government’s intervention in this case. The Business Council of Canada had urged the government to impose binding arbitration in this cases, too. The government has maintained that her Liberal government is not anti-union, saying it is clear the two sides are at an impasse. The airline said it would also offer alternative travel options through other Canadian and foreign airlines when possible.
The Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered airline staff back to work by 2 p.m. Sunday after the government intervened and Air Canada said it planned to resume flights Sunday evening.
Canada’s largest airline now says it will resume flights Monday evening.
“Our members are not going back to work,” Canadian Union of Public Employees national president Mark Hancock said earlier Sunday outside Toronto’s Pearson International Airport. “We are saying no.”
Hancock said the “whole process has been unfair” and said the union will challenge what it called an unconstitutional order.
“Air Canada has really refused to bargain with us and they refused to bargain with us because they knew this government would come in on their white horse and try and save the day,” he said.
The federal government didn’t immediately provide comment on the union refusing to return to work.
The country’s largest airline had said early Sunday in a release that the first flights would resume later in the day but that it will take several days before its operations return to normal. It said some flights will be canceled over the next seven to 10 days until the schedule is stabilized.
Less than 12 hours after workers walked off the job, Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu ordered the 10,000 flight attendants back to work, saying now is not the time to take risks with the economy and noting the unprecedented tariffs the U.S. has imposed on Canada. Hajdu referred the work stoppage to the Canada Industrial Relations Board.
The airline said the Canada Industrial Relations Board has extended the term of the existing collective agreement until a new one is determined by the arbitrator.
The shutdown of Canada’s largest airline early Saturday was impacting about 130,000 people a day. Air Canada operates around 700 flights per day.
According to numbers from aviation analytics provider Cirium, Air Canada canceled a total of 494 flights on Sunday morning. That’s in addition to the hundreds of flights it canceled in the previous days.
The bitter contract fight escalated Friday as the union turned down Air Canada’s prior request to enter into government-directed arbitration, which allows a third-party mediator to decide the terms of a new contract.
Flight attendants walked off the job around 1 a.m. EDT on Saturday. Around the same time, Air Canada said it would begin locking flight attendants out of airports.
Last year, the government forced the country’s two major railroads into arbitration with their labor union during a work stoppage. The union for the rail workers is suing, arguing the government is removing a union’s leverage in negotiations.
The Business Council of Canada had urged the government to impose binding arbitration in this case, too. And the Canadian Chamber of Commerce welcomed the intervention.
Hajdu maintained that her Liberal government is not anti-union, saying it is clear the two sides are at an impasse.
Passengers whose flights are impacted will be eligible to request a full refund on the airline’s website or mobile app, according to Air Canada.
The airline said it would also offer alternative travel options through other Canadian and foreign airlines when possible. Still, it warned that it could not guarantee immediate rebooking because flights on other airlines are already full “due to the summer travel peak.”
Air Canada and CUPE have been in contract talks for about eight months, but they have yet to reach a tentative deal. Both sides have said they remain far apart on the issue of pay and the unpaid work flight attendants do when planes aren’t in the air.
The airline’s latest offer included a 38% increase in total compensation, including benefits and pensions, over four years, that it said “would have made our flight attendants the best compensated in Canada.”
But the union pushed back, saying the proposed 8% raise in the first year didn’t go far enough because of inflation.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Air Canada union says flight attendants will continue strike, airline delays restart plan
Air Canada flight attendants said on Sunday they would remain on strike despite a government-backed labor board’s order to return to work by 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT) The Canadian Union of Public Employees invited Air Canada back to the table to “negotiate a fair deal” The airline said it would delay plans to restart operations from Sunday until Monday evening. Air Canada had said it planned to resume flights on Sunday evening, following the expected end of the strike that caused the suspension of around 700 daily flights on Saturday. More than 100,000 passengers were affected by the strike, which began on Saturday after months of negotiations over a new contract at the country’s largest carrier. The government, under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, intervened last year to head off rail and dock strikes that threatened to cripple the economy, but it is unusual for a union to defy a CIRB order. It was not immediately clear what options the government has if the union continues its strike.
Companies Air Canada had said it would resume operations later on Sunday
Flight attendants ordered to return to duties by 2 p.m. ET
Government ordered binding arbitration to break contract impasse
MONTREAL Aug 17 (Reuters) – Air Canada (AC.TO) , opens new tab flight attendants said on Sunday they would remain on strike despite a government-backed labor board’s order to return to work by 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT), calling the order unconstitutional.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees said in a statement that members would remain on strike and invited Air Canada back to the table to “negotiate a fair deal.” The airline said it would delay plans to restart operations from Sunday until Monday evening.
Sign up here.
On Saturday, the Canadian government under Prime Minister Mark Carney moved to end a strike by more than 10,000 flight attendants at the country’s largest carrier by asking the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order binding arbitration. The CIRB issued the order, which Air Canada had sought, and unionized flight attendants opposed.
The Canada Labour Code gives the government the power to ask the CIRB to impose binding arbitration in the interest of protecting the economy.
The government, under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, intervened last year to head off rail and dock strikes that threatened to cripple the economy, but it is unusual for a union to defy a CIRB order. It was not immediately clear what options the government has if the union continues its strike.
Air Canada had said it planned to resume flights on Sunday evening, following the expected end of the strike that caused the suspension of around 700 daily flights on Saturday, stranding more than 100,000 passengers.
Air Canada flight attendants walked off the job on Saturday for the first time since 1985, after months of negotiations over a new contract.
The union called a decision by the CIRB chair Maryse Tremblay to not recuse herself from handling the case a “staggering conflict of interest,” since she had worked as a senior counsel for Air Canada in the past. According to Tremblay’s LinkedIn profile, she served as Air Canada’s counsel from 1998 to 2004.
Item 1 of 6 Demonstrators hold placards as Air Canada flight attendants said they will remain on strike and challenge a return-to-work order they called unconstitutional, defying a government decision to force them back to their duties, at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, August 17, 2025. REUTERS/Chris Helgren [1/6] Demonstrators hold placards as Air Canada flight attendants said they will remain on strike and challenge a return-to-work order they called unconstitutional, defying a government decision to force them back to their duties, at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia,… Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab Read more
Air Canada, the CIRB, and a Canadian government spokesperson were not immediately available for comment.
Other unions joined the flight attendants’ picket line in solidarity in Toronto on Sunday.
“They are in support here today because they are seeing our rights being eroded,” said Natasha Stea, an Air Canada flight attendant and local union president.
Air Canada had started cancelling flights on Thursday in anticipation of the stoppage.
Travellers at Toronto Pearson International Airport said they were confused about whether their flights would resume or Air Canada would make alternative arrangements.
“We are kind of left to figure it out for ourselves and fend for ourselves with no recourse or options provided by Air Canada at this time,” said Elizabeth Fourney of Vancouver.
The most contentious issue has been the union’s demand for compensation for time spent on the ground between flights and when helping passengers board. Attendants are largely paid only when their plane is moving.
CUPE had pushed for a negotiated solution, saying binding arbitration would take pressure off the airline.
Air Canada said on Sunday that the CIRB had ordered the terms of the collective agreement between the union and the airline that expired on March 31 be extended until a new agreement can be reached.
Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal, Promit Mukherjee in Ottawa and Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru and Kyaw Soe Oo in Toronto; Editing by Tomasz Janowski, Kirsten Donovan, Rod Nickel
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab
Air Canada staff refuse government back-to-work order with plans to restart flights now at risk
10,000 Air Canada flight attendants will not return to work on Sunday, defying a government order to resume operations by this afternoon, their union says. Air Canada says the union was “illegally” defying the government return-to-work orders, and that approximately 240 flights that had been scheduled to resume on Sunday had been cancelled.
“We will be challenging this blatantly unconstitutional order that violates the charter rights of 10,000 flight attendants, 70 percent of whom are women, and 100 percent of whom are forced to do hours of unpaid work by their employer every time they come to work,” the Canadian Union of Public Employees said in a statement to media outlets. “We remain on strike. We demand a fair, negotiated contract and to be compensated for all hours worked.”
Air Canada, whose collective agreement with the flight attendants expired in March, said earlier Sunday the Canada Industrial Relations Board had directed the carrier to resume operations and have the striking workers return to their posts by 2 p.m. Eastern time.
Advertisement Advertisement
Advertisement Advertisement
The independent board’s move came after federal labor minister Patty Hajdu intervened in the dispute on Saturday, less than 12 hours after the roughly 10,000 workers walked off the job, ordering the board to use binding arbitration to end the dispute.
In a statement, Air Canada said the union was “illegally” defying the government return-to-work orders, and that approximately 240 flights that had been scheduled to resume on Sunday had been cancelled.
Union says flight attendants will not return to work and claims industrial board’s return-to-work order violates charter rights, while airline claims refusing order is illegal (AP)
“The airline will resume flights as of tomorrow evening,” Air Canada added.
The Independent has contacted Hajdu for comment.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated with new information.