Three WestJet flights to and from YVR cancelled due to impending strike

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Two WestJet flights to and from Vancouver International Airport were cancelled on Thursday due to a possible strike by WestJet aircraft mechanics.

The airline said a strike would disrupt the travel plans of 250,000 passengers over the Canada Day long weekend and cost millions of dollars.

The Calgary-based airline has already started cancelling flights. Around 25 flights have been cancelled for Thursday and Friday as the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) is expecting possible industrial action. The AMFA is threatening to picket as early as 4:30 p.m. (local time) on Friday.

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According to YVR’s website, two WestJet flights were cancelled for Thursday – one of which was from Calgary and the other was scheduled to depart for Toronto. A third WestJet flight from Toronto to YVR on Friday was also cancelled.

WestJet’s decision to concentrate its fleet of 180 aircraft already affects around 3,300 customers and is intended to prevent aircraft from being abandoned at distant locations, stranding passengers and crew.

As negotiations over the union’s first collective agreement drag on in a windowless conference room at a hotel near Toronto’s Pearson Airport, the tone of statements from both sides has become increasingly aggressive.

The mechanics union, which represents about 680 workers – the majority are aircraft maintenance technicians (AMEs) who inspect every active aircraft daily – has accused WestJet of “confrontational politics” and “false accusations”. It said on Wednesday that the airline had asked the government to rescind its strike notice without notifying its negotiators.

“In its statement today, WestJet argues that a strike at AME would put the company and the traveling public at risk at a critical time,” the union’s bargaining committee said in a press release on Wednesday.

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“It is hard to imagine a more inflammatory or offensive comment.”

WestJet described the impact of a possible strike as “catastrophic.”

“With the July long weekend fast approaching, it is especially devastating that the strike notice we received from AMFA is forcing us to cancel flights and park aircraft for the second time in just over a week,” said Diederik Pen, president of WestJet Airlines, in a press release.

He described the decision to cancel flights as “painful” and pointed to the consequences for customers.

The aircraft mechanics first announced a 72-hour strike on June 17, forcing WestJet to cancel nearly 50 flights last week before both sides agreed to resume negotiations. The second strike followed on Tuesday.

Union members overwhelmingly rejected a tentative deal earlier this month and resisted WestJet’s request for intervention by the country’s labor court.

The Canada Industrial Relations Board has said it needs more time and proposals from all parties before it can decide whether to reach a collective agreement through binding arbitration, as WestJet proposed last week.

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With Postmedia files

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