Air Transit canceled more than a dozen flights in anticipation of pilots’ strike deadline
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With less than 24 hours left until a potential pilots’ strike, Air Transit has now canceled a dozen flights scheduled for Tuesday and another six scheduled for Wednesday.
The airline has canceled Tuesday flights from Toronto Pearson to Manchester, UK; Montreal to Málaga, Spain; Toronto Pearson to Lisbon; Montreal to Paris; Toronto Pearson to London Gatwick; and from Montreal to Lima. Other flights canceled on Wednesday are listed here,
Previously announced cancellations included round trip flights between Montreal and Cancún, Toronto Pearson and Cancún, and Montreal and Punta Cana.
Amelie Heroux-Gauthier, Gatineau, Que. The resident, who is getting married at a resort in Mexico this week, is among those worried her Air Transat flight will be cancelled.
“Right now we’re in limbo. We don’t know if there will be a strike or not. We don’t know anything. We’re just waiting,” said Heroux-Gauthier, who is debating whether to cancel her Dec. 12 flight to Cancún in advance.
The airline warned on Monday that if it does not reach an agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association, International. (ALPA) – the union representing its pilots – will begin shutting down its operations in anticipation of a strike by Tuesday.
ALPA issued a 72-hour strike notice on Sunday, meaning Air Transat pilots have until 3 a.m. ET on Wednesday to walk off the job.
“We are working tirelessly and hope to reach an agreement today to minimize disruption to operations,” a representative for the airline said in a statement Tuesday morning.
The spokesperson said the carrier has also dispatched several aircraft to repatriate passengers who are currently abroad and whose return flights could potentially be disrupted due to the strike.
The spokesman said talks were continuing today and an “improved offer” was made on Monday evening after both sides acknowledged that progress had been made at the bargaining table.
Air Transat announced Sunday that it would gradually cease operations over the next three days in response to a 72-hour strike order issued by the union representing its 750 pilots. Labor lawyer Sandeep Gokhale discusses the situation on Hanumansingh Tonight.
Captain Bradley Small, chairman of the union’s Air Transit Master Executive Council, confirmed that both sides remain at the bargaining table. “We are responsible to our passengers and pilots to reach a deal,” he said.
“We are committed to negotiating a fair and modern contract that will bring stability to our pilots and our airline.”
John Gradek, a professor of operations and integrated aviation management at McGill University, said many labor disputes are resolved in the final hours before the strike deadline.
“That’s why we have a deadline. It puts pressure on both sides to come up with some clear ideas and clear initiatives to reach an agreement so that we can minimize disruption,” he said.
Air Transat is a leisure airline, with a fleet much smaller than that of major carriers Air Canada and WestJet, putting it “in a completely different league,” Gradek said.
“They don’t have the internal strength and financial depth that Air Canada and WestJet would have (in the event of a strike),” he said. “So there’s a lot of risk economically.”
