TORONTO (AP) — Air Canada suspended operations as more than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants went on strike early Saturday after a deadline to reach a deal passed, leaving travelers around the world stranded and scrambling during the peak summer travel season.
Canadian Union of Public Employees spokesman Hugh Pouliot confirmed the strike had started after no deal was reached, and the airline said shortly after that it would halt operations.
A bitter contract fight between Canada’s largest airline and the union representing 10,000 of its flight attendants escalated Friday as the union turned down the airline’s request to enter into government-directed arbitration, which would eliminate its right to strike and allow a third-party mediator to decide the terms of a new contract.
A complete shutdown will impact about 130,000 people a day, and some 25,000 Canadians may be stranded abroad daily. Air Canada operates around 700 flights per day.
Keelin Pringnitz, from Ottawa, was returning with her family from a European vacation when they became stranded at London’s Heathrow Airport after flights were cancelled. She said there was an option for the travelers in line to go the United States, but was told there wouldn’t be any further assistance once they landed in the U.S.
