An Air Canada plane at the Saint John Airport. Image: Submitted/Saint John Airport
Air Canada says it will suspend most of its operations as early as next week if it can’t come to an agreement with its pilots.
The Airline Pilots Association representing more than 5,200 Air Canada workers could be in a legal strike position as of September 18th at midnight.
That because starting on September 15th, either side may issue a 72-hour strike or lockout notice.
President and CEO of Air Canada Michael Rousseau says it’s finalizing contingency plans.
“We understand and apologize for the inconvenience this would cause our customers,” says Rousseau in a news release.
“However, a managed shutdown is the only responsible course available to us. We are publicizing our plans to give the more than 110,000 people who travel with us each day greater certainty and the opportunity to reduce the risk of being stranded by using our goodwill policy to change or defer imminent travel at no cost. We are also alerting the Government of Canada to the potential disruption’s impact upon Canadians.”
The company believes there is still time to reach an agreement, but it says the two sides remain far apart.
