More than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants walked off the job early Saturday (US time), compelling the airline to suspend all operations. The shocking development marks the first strike staged by flight attendants since 1985.

“About 130,000 customers will be impacted each day that the strike continues,” Air Canada said in a statement. “Air Canada is strongly advising affected customers not to go to the airport unless they have a confirmed ticket on an airline other than Air Canada or Air Canada Rouge.” Meanwhile, Canadian Union of Public Employees outrightly announced via a post on its website: “We are now officially on strike.”

As Air Canada employees took the big leap amid peak summer travel season, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) spokesman Hugh Pouliot confirmed that the strike had kicked off after a bitter contract fight did not flesh out a deal. The flight attendants decided to stage a walk-out as Canada‘s biggest airline and the union in question failed to positively reach a decision after negotiations over salary and work conditions.

ALSO READ

Employees union vs Air Canada

CUPE accused the country’s largest carrier of tackling “longstanding issues of fatigue, fair pay and respect for frontline staff” head-on. Meanwhile, Air Canada formally expressed regret due to the “uncertainty” created for the customers and employees in the aftermath of failing to reach a conclusion. The contract talks have now extended for about eight months but a tentative deal has still not been reached.

As part of Air Canada’s most recent offer to the employees, it handed out a 25% bump, including benefits and pensions, in the first year and 38% over four years in a bid to honour their workers as the “best compensated” in the country, according to the Associated Press. The carrier also agreed to pay its employees for some duration of the time they are on the ground. As per current operations, it only pays them when the plane is moving, and so boarding remains uncompensated.

“CUPE has engaged with the mediator to relay our willingness to continue bargaining — despite the fact that Air Canada has not countered our last two offers since Tuesday,” Pouliot said in an email. “We’re here to bargain a deal, not to go on strike.”

ALSO READ

The complete shutdown impacting about 130,000 people a day, as Air Canada operates around 700 flights per day, kicked off as flight attendants walked out around 1 am ET on Saturday, August 16. The Canada carrier eventually announced that it would be locking flight attendants out of airports.

While the deadline on the deal appears to have passed, the union has rejected the airline’s suggestion to allow a third-party mediator to lay out a new contract. A government-directed arbitration would, in turn, hamper the union’s right to strike.

According to TD Cowen analyst Tom Fitzgerald’s message to clients, Air Canada is walking a thin line as it may lose C$75 million ($54 million) in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for each day its operations remain suspended.

This is a breaking story. More Information will be added soon…