About 200,000 travellers are expected to be impacted this Canada Day long weekend after WestJet aircraft maintenance engineers walked off the job.
The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA), the union representing the mechanics, announced the strike in a statement on Friday, June 28.
Members were directed to cease all work at 4:30 p.m. PST, according to the statement.
In response to the strike, WestJet warned travellers that "severe travel disruption" could happen if the strike is not called off as the "network takedown can no longer happen in the orderly manner" the airline had originally planned.
The airline later announced that it has cancelled 150 flights for Saturday, June 29. More than 250,000 passengers were expected over the long weekend, said WestJet.
The airline also plans to start operating with a "significantly reduced schedule" by the end of Saturday by parking its aircrafts in stations across Canada.
"Additional cancellations are anticipated by Saturday morning if the strike is not called off or intervention does not happen immediately," reads WestJet's statement on Friday evening.
Travellers are asked to check their flight status before heading to the airport. Flexible change and cancel policies are available to eligible guests for June 28 and 29, according to WestJet's post on social media platform X.
The strike came as an unexpected development as the federal Minister of Labour had asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) on Thursday to help the parties reach a final agreement through binding arbitration.
Both AMFA and WestJet had agreed to follow the minister's order.
AMFA initially issued its first notice last week but later withdrew it when CIRB ruled against WestJet's attempt to stop the strike and WestJet agreed to set bargaining dates.
It then issued a second strike notice after negotiations broke down again.
The first notice resulted in the cancellation of about 40 flights and WestJet cancelled 25 flights after the second notice.
In an email to WestJet senior manager for labour relations Virgina Swindall published on AMFA's website, the union accused the employer of shutting down negotiations, listing conduct such as allegedly withholding a revised contract proposal and asking for certain members of the negotiating committee to be excluded.
WestJet, on the other hand, said it is "extremely outraged" at the union's decision to go ahead with the strike.
“The government has officially stepped in to provide binding arbitration and ensure we get to a resolution; the only reason for this union to continue with a strike action is to create damage, disrupt the travel plans of thousands of Canadians over the July long weekend and to inflict significant costs on our business,” said Diederik Pen, WestJet Airlines president and group chief operating officer in a statement issued earlier this evening.
The airline stated it is "actively and aggressively pursuing every avenue to minimize disruption."
Meanwhile, AMFA said its bargaining committee is "standing by" to continue discussions with the employer.
"The parties are separated by economic difference of approximately 7 per cent, less than $8 million a year," reads AMFA's statement.
With files from Valerie Leung.
