Air Canada, the country’s largest airline, is facing the most significant labor disruption in more than two decades as contract negotiations with its flight attendants have reached a breaking point. With a strike by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), representing roughly 10,000 flight attendants, set to begin at 1 a.m. ET on August 16, 2025, the carrier has already begun canceling hundreds of flights and preparing for a complete shutdown of its mainline and Air Canada Rouge services. The last time Air Canada faced a full-scale shutdown due to labor strife was during the 1998 pilots’ strike, which lasted 11 days. The impact this time, however, could be even more profound, as the disruption comes at the height of the summer travel season—a period when Air Canada and its low-cost subsidiary typically serve about 130,000 passengers daily, including 25,000 returning from abroad.
The roots of the dispute trace back to March 2025, when contract talks between Air Canada and CUPE began. Despite months of negotiations, the two sides have hit an impasse over wages and working conditions. At the heart of the union’s demands is fair compensation for what it describes as “unpaid work.” Currently, Air Canada only pays flight attendants for the time between when an aircraft’s brakes are released at departure and when they are applied at arrival. That means the hours spent preparing the cabin, boarding passengers, and completing post-flight duties—estimated by CUPE to be about 35 hours each month—go uncompensated.
CUPE has been vocal about the need for change, highlighting that junior flight attendants’ salaries are substantially below Canada’s minimum wage. According to an analysis of collective agreement wage rates, flight attendants’ pay would need to rise by 32 to 34 percent just to match the 2014 purchasing power, after adjusting for inflation. Air Canada, for its part, has offered a 38% increase in total compensation over four years, but the union rejected the proposal, arguing that an 8% raise in the first year does not keep pace with the rising cost of living. “Canadians clearly stand on the side of fairness—with flight attendants,” said Wesley Lesosky, president of the Air Canada Component of CUPE, citing new polling by Abacus Data that found nearly 90% of Canadians support the flight attendants’ demands for better wages.
The issue of unpaid work is not unique to Air Canada or even to Canada. In the United States, Delta Air Lines broke with industry tradition in 2022 by paying flight attendants for work performed during the boarding process. American Airlines and Alaska Airlines soon followed suit, and United Airlines has included a similar provision in a proposed contract now awaiting ratification. In Canada, Porter Airlines and Pascan Aviation pay flight attendants for boarding work, illustrating that industry standards are shifting—though not yet universally adopted.
Efforts to address unpaid duties have also reached Parliament Hill. In October 2024, NDP MP Bonita Zarrillo introduced Bill C-415, which would have amended the Canada Labour Code to require employers to pay flight attendants for all pre-flight and post-flight duties, as well as mandatory training at full pay. The bill passed first reading but expired with the end of the parliamentary session in January 2025. Nonetheless, support for such legislation remains strong, as evidenced by a letter from the Leader of the Opposition to the Minister of Labour on August 5, 2025.
As the strike deadline loomed, Air Canada responded to CUPE’s 72-hour strike notice with its own lockout notice, signaling preparations to suspend all flights operated by mainline Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge. By midday on August 15, the airline had canceled nearly 200 flights, and by noon, the number had swelled to 294. According to aviation data firm Cirium, Air Canada had been scheduled to operate 721 flights that day, but the carrier planned to cancel 500 trips in total as it wound down operations. Regional flights operated by Air Canada Express partners Jazz Aviation and PAL Airlines were not expected to be affected.
Chief Operations Officer Mark Nasr emphasized the complexity of the situation, stating, “It’s simply not the kind of system that we can start or stop at the push of a button. So in order to have a safe and orderly wind down, we need to begin now.” Nasr predicted that by 1 a.m. on Saturday, Air Canada would be “completely grounded.” Even after a deal is reached, he warned, it could take up to a week to fully restart operations, as aircraft and crews must be repositioned and schedules rebuilt.
The disruption comes at a particularly inopportune time, with families preparing for back-to-school travel and vacationers heading out during the last weeks of summer. Passengers with flights booked between August 15 and 18 have been offered the option to change their bookings to dates between August 21 and September 12 without fare differences, or to cancel for travel credits. United Airlines, a Star Alliance partner, has issued a similar waiver for flights to Canada during the affected period. However, capacity is extremely limited, and Air Canada has warned that rebooking within an acceptable timeframe may not be possible. In such cases, refunds will be offered. Passengers are advised not to go to the airport unless they have a confirmed new booking, as customer service wait times are expected to be longer than usual.
Canadian regulations do not consider strike-related cancellations to be within the airline’s control. As a result, Air Canada is not required to provide compensation for hotels or meals, though passengers are covered by Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Rights for refunds and rebooking efforts. Travelers are also encouraged to check their travel insurance or credit card benefits for possible coverage of incurred expenses.
CUPE’s resolve is evident, with 99.7% of flight attendants voting in favor of a strike if negotiations failed. The union’s priorities—wage increases to restore a living wage and compensation for all hours worked—have remained consistent throughout eight months of dialogue. For Air Canada, the stakes are equally high. A strike could result in daily financial losses of $50 to $60 million, a sum that industry analysts believe would bring the airline back to the negotiating table quickly.
Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu has urged both sides to continue negotiating, assuring Canadians that federal mediators are available around the clock. “To the parties: I strongly urge you to come to an agreement—do not waste this precious time. Canadians are counting on you,” Hajdu said in a statement.
As the clock ticks down to the strike deadline, travelers, airline staff, and the broader Canadian public are watching closely. With so much at stake for both sides—and for the tens of thousands of passengers caught in the middle—the coming days will reveal whether compromise is still possible or if Canada’s busiest airline will indeed go dark for the first time in a generation.
