Air Canada Suspends All Operations, Locks Out Flight Attendants In Response to Strike Action

Air Canada has suspended all operations of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge due to a strike by its 10,000 flight attendants represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).

And in response to CUPE commencing strike action, Air Canada said that a lockout of the 10,000 flight attendants at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) had begun.

The lockout took effect at 1:30 am Eastern Time on Aug. 16, 2025. This step became necessary because at 0:58 am Eastern Time CUPE commenced strike action.

Flights by Air Canada Express, which are operated by third-party airlines, are not affected – meaning that Air Canada Jazz and PAL Airlines flights continue to operate as usual.

On Aug. 13, Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge served CUPE a statutory 72-hour lockout notice in response to the union’s own 72-hour strike notice.

The carriers have since been gradually reducing their schedules of about 700 daily flights to manage the labour disruption created by CUPE’s strike notice. Some 130,000 customers will be impacted each day that the suspension continues.

At this time, Air Canada remains engaged and committed to negotiate a renewal to its collective agreement with CUPE.

Air Canada is strongly advising affected customers not to go to the airport unless they have a confirmed ticket on an airline other than Air Canada or Air Canada Rouge.

Air Canada said that it deeply regrets the effect the labour disruption is having on customers and that it will notify customers with imminent travel of additional cancelled flights and their options. For those customers who are due to travel soon whose flights are not yet cancelled, Air Canada has put in place a goodwill policy to allow them to rebook their travel or obtain a credit for future travel.

For more information customers should visit aircanada.com/action.

TICO offers advice to consumers

The Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO) is providing information for consumers who booked packaged travel that include flights on Air Canada – including packages booked with Air Canada Vacations and other TICO-registered businesses whose packages include Air Canada flights – and which are impacted by the Air Canada labour disruption

And TICO notes that the information that it’s providing only applies to travel packages purchased by consumers from a TICO-registered travel service provider, which are provincially regulated by TICO in Ontario.

Air Canada, the airline, is federally regulated by the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA), please click here for more information.

For consumers whose travel packages have been cancelled due to the Air Canada labour disruption:

Under Ontario law, if a travel agency or tour operator acquires rights to travel services for resale to other registrants or customers and is unable to provide the travel services purchased due to the failure of a supplier(s) to provide the service (e.g., flight to destination), then the customer must be offered THEIR CHOICE of:

* A refund;

* Comparable alternate travel services acceptable to the customer; or

* A voucher or similar document that is acceptable to the customer for future redemption towards travel services.

If a customer prefers a full refund for a travel package sold, or otherwise provided by Air Canada Vacations or another TICO-registered business with a package that features an Air Canada flight, Ontario’s consumer protection laws require a refund be provided within a reasonable timeframe.

For consumers booked on Air Canada Vacations, please visit the Air Canada Vacations website for more information.

For packages with other TICO-registered businesses, please contact the business.

For consumers who are in destination on a packaged trip with Air Canada Vacations or another TICO-registered business and have had their return flight cancelled:

Air Canada Vacations customers who are in destination can refer to this FAQ page for information and contact Air Canada Vacations directly.

For packages with other TICO-registered businesses, please contact the business or your travel agent.

Additionally, consumers are encouraged to contact their insurance provider as soon as possible to discuss coverage and options.

Under Ontario law, there is no coverage under the Travel Industry Compensation Fund for consumers to be reimbursed for expenses (e.g., accommodations, meals, car rental, lost wages, etc.) incurred due to a flight cancellation because of a labour disruption.

Additional resources:

* For potential compensation and regulations for air-only cancellations and delays, advisors and passengers should refer to the Canadian Transportation Agency’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations.

* For more information about the labour disruption and Air Canada’s policies, please click here.