Air Canada flights could halt next week: Here’s the latest

Air Canada’s potential work stoppage could ground flights, halt cargo and leave travellers scrambling to reschedule next week.

The airline and its pilots are at a negotiating impasse over wages. The union, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), seeks to narrow the gap between Canadian and American salaries.

In late August, its members voted 98 per cent in favour of a strike.

“We continue to negotiate in good faith,” said union leader Charlene Hudy at the time of the vote. With a US$5 million fund available to sustain a potential work stoppage, the union says it’s “prepared for any outcome.”

Meanwhile, Air Canada has asked the federal government to step in and force arbitration. It would be the second time Ottawa decided to to take the reigns of labour negotiations in as many months after trains on Canada’s two largest railways halted in August.

Arbitration is a powerful tool for the government to force a resolution during an impasse, but it’s also controversial – some see it as a necessary step to maintain operations vital to trade and tourism, others call it over-reach.

Outside the boardroom, travellers are anxiously checking the status of their scheduled flights. Air Canada said earlier this week that a 72-hour strike or lockout notice could be issued as early as Sunday, Sept. 15.

12:10 p.m. EDT: Air Canada and business leaders have already asked Ottawa to be ready to step in and avoid a stoppage.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who appeared for a separate announcement in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Que. late Friday morning, stopped short of saying the government is poised to intervene.

“As we’ve said repeatedly, we need to make sure the parties are working extremely hard to resolve this,” he said.

Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon met with the airline and union yesterday, Trudeau added, without offering further details.

During a news conference on Wednesday, MacKinnon said “there’s no reason” the parties shouldn’t be able to reach a deal.

11:40 a.m. EDT: Negotiations are ongoing today.

“Sometimes, we really do feel close to reaching a deal,” said Hudy in an interview with CTV News Channel Friday. “Other times, we feel miles apart.”

She said that among the changes pilots are seeking in their contracts, one particular sticking point concerns the cross-Atlantic pilots, many of whom are performing as many as 12 of trips across the ocean each month.

She said their colleagues at other airlines make that kind of trip between just six and eight times per month.

“There is a real element of fatigue there,” she said, adding that pilots need adequate rest time because they “carry a lot of responsibility.”

An airline spokesperson told CTV’s Your Morning he hopes for a resolution before Sunday.

Failing that, the work stoppage could affect “over 110,000 people a day, who have plans and will be severely inconvenienced,” said Christophe Hennebelle.

He said Air Canada is looking for seats with other airlines for their passengers who may have their flights cancelled.

“But we have to be realistic. There just will not be enough seats for everybody.”

The other issue dominating headlines is compensation. The union wants a pay increase, and though the airline says they’ve made a proposal, Air Canada claims it was met with “unreasonable” demands.

CTVNews.ca has reached out to the union for a response. 

10:20 a.m. EDT: Air Canada has already stopped accepting certain cargo, such as perishables and live animals, in case the airline grounds its fleet. Certain aircraft have been rerouted, should a disruption happen and they require maintenance.

Air Canada spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick told CP24 the airline has not cancelled any flights in anticipation of the stoppage, but preparations are underway.

“Customers will be notified if there are any changes to their travel,” he wrote in a statement.

This article will be updated through the day. Check back for updates.