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Less than 24 hours before a potential pilot strike, Air Transat canceled a dozen flights scheduled for Tuesday and another six flights scheduled for Wednesday.
The airline canceled flights from Toronto Pearson to Manchester, UK, on Tuesday; Montreal – Malaga, Spain; Toronto Pearson – Lisbon; Montreal – Paris; Toronto Pearson – London Gatwick; and from Montreal to Lima. More flight cancellations for Wednesday listed here.
Previously announced cancellations included roundtrip flights between Montreal and Cancun, Toronto Pearson and Cancun, and Montreal and Punta Cana.
Amelie Heroux-Gautier, a Gatineau, Que., resident who is getting married at a resort in Mexico this week, is among those worried that her Air Transat flight will be cancelled.
“Right now we are in limbo. We don't know if there will be a strike. We don't know anything. We're just waiting,” said Heroux-Gautier, who is debating whether to preemptively cancel her Dec. 12 flight to Cancun.
The airline warned Monday that unless it reaches an agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association, Intl. ALPA, the union representing its pilots, will begin winding down its operations by Tuesday in anticipation of a strike.
ALPA announced a 72-hour strike Sunday, meaning Air Transat pilots could walk off the job as early as 3 a.m. ET Wednesday morning.
“We are working tirelessly and still hope to reach an agreement today to minimize disruption,” an airline spokesman said in a statement Tuesday morning.
The carrier has also sent several planes to return passengers who are currently overseas and whose return flights could potentially be disrupted by the strike, the spokesman said.
The spokesman added that talks were continuing today and that he had made “improved offers” on Monday evening after both sides acknowledged progress had been made at the negotiating table.
Air Transat announced on Sunday it would phase out its operations over the next three days in response to a 72-hour strike issued by the union representing its 750 pilots. Labor lawyer Sandeep Gokhale discusses the situation on Hanomansing Tonight.
CBC News has reached out to the union to learn about the status of negotiations.
Captain Bradley Small, chairman of the Air Transport Chief Executive Council, confirmed that both sides remain at the negotiating table. “We owe it to our passengers and pilots to get this deal done,” he said.
“We are committed to a fair and modern contract that will bring stability to our pilots and our airline.”
John Gradek, a professor of aviation operations and integrated management at McGill University, said many labor disputes are resolved in the final hours before the strike deadline.
“That's why we have a deadline. This puts some pressure on both sides to have clear thoughts and clear initiatives to reach a settlement and minimize disruption,” he said.
Air Transat is a leisure airline with a much smaller fleet compared to major airlines Air Canada and WestJet, Gradek added, putting it “in a completely different league.”
“They don't have the boldness and financial depth that Air Canada and WestJet would have. [in the event of a strike]”,” he said. “So there's a lot more financial risk involved.”
