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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.<\/p>\n
A bitter contract fight between Canada\u2019s largest airline<\/a> and the union representing 10,000 of its flight attendants escalated Friday as the union turned down the airline\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \nFlight attendants walk off the job<\/strong><\/p>\n Flight attendants walked off the job around 1 am EDT on Saturday. Around the same time, Air Canada said it would begin locking flight attendants out of airports.<\/p>\n Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu met both the airline and the union on Friday night and urged them to work harder to reach a deal \u201conce and for all.”<\/p>\n \u201cIt is unacceptable that such little progress has been made. Canadians are counting on both parties to put forward their best efforts,\u201d Hajdu said in a statement posted on social media.<\/p>\n Pouliot, the spokesman for the union, earlier said the union had a meeting with Hajdu and representatives from Air Canada earlier Friday evening.<\/p>\n \u201cCUPE has engaged with the mediator to relay our willingness to continue bargaining \u2014 although Air Canada has not countered our last two offers since Tuesday,\u201d he said in an email. \u201cWe\u2019re here to bargain a deal, not to go on strike.\u201d<\/p>\n Travellers are in limbo<\/strong><\/p>\n A complete shutdown will impact about 130,000 people a day, and some 25,000 Canadians a day may be stranded abroad. Air Canada operates around 700 flights per day. \nMontreal resident Alex Laroche, 21, and his girlfriend had been saving since Christmas for their European vacation. Now their $8,000 trip with non-refundable lodging is on the line as they wait to hear from Air Canada about the fate of their Saturday night flight to Nice, France.<\/p>\n How long the airline\u2019s planes will be grounded remains to be seen, but Air Canada Chief Operating Officer Mark Nasr has said it could take up to a week to fully restart operations once a tentative deal is reached.<\/p>\n Passengers whose travel is impacted will be eligible to request a full refund on the airline\u2019s website or mobile app, according to Air Canada.<\/p>\n
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