Air Canada Standoff Could Ground All Flights This Weekend

If you’ve got an Air Canada ticket for the next few days, you might want to double-check your plans — the airline is bracing for a massive shutdown as its battle with flight attendants heats up.

Starting Thursday, Canada’s largest airline will begin canceling flights, with a full stop to all Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge service by Saturday. The move comes after the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents more than 10,000 flight attendants, issued a 72-hour strike notice. In response, the airline fired back with its own lockout notice, effective Aug. 16.

The two sides have been at the bargaining table for months, but talks have gone nowhere. The union says its members are tired of “poverty wages” and not getting paid for hours worked on the ground — like boarding passengers or waiting during delays. Air Canada says it’s already offered a hefty deal: a 38% compensation boost over four years, including a 25% jump in the first year, plus partial pay for non-flight duties. The union calls the math misleading, saying the real raise is closer to 17% and still trails inflation.

“We’ve put forward fair, industry-standard proposals,” said CUPE Air Canada Component President Wesley Lesosky. “Air Canada’s response makes it clear they’re not interested in fixing the real problems.”

The airline argues it’s tried to reach a compromise — even suggesting binding arbitration — but the union rejected that, preferring to keep negotiating directly. CEO Michael Rousseau apologized to customers in a statement, saying the company will issue full refunds and try to book passengers on other airlines where possible.

Air Canada handles roughly 430 daily flights to over 50 US airports and moves about 130,000 passengers a day. The ripple effect from a shutdown could hit routes to the US, Europe, and Asia hard.

Federal mediators are standing by, and Canada’s jobs minister is urging both sides to stay at the table. But unless something changes fast, the first cancellations will start rolling out Thursday, pick up Friday, and by early Saturday morning, Air Canada’s planes could be parked indefinitely.

The Associated Press, CNN, and Reuters contributed to this report.