WestJet strike: Vancouver sees dozens more cancellations

Dozens of WestJet flights to and from Vancouver International Airport were cancelled on Sunday as the aircraft mechanics strike continues.

According to the airline’s flight status page, 46 departures and 46 arrivals were cancelled. A labour dispute between the airline and the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association escalated on Friday – just as the Canada Day long weekend began.

Elsewhere in British Columbia, five flights from Abbotsford, 12 from Victoria and 14 from Kelowna were cancelled.

Across Canada, the airline has cancelled more than 700 flights, affecting an estimated 100,000 travellers over the long weekend. Anyone planning to fly with WestJet is urged to check the status of their flight before heading to the airport.

In an update on Saturday evening, WestJet’s COO said that “all options for a solution are being explored,” but also sharply criticized the union.

“Today has been an incredibly difficult day for all of us at WestJet. Every flight cancellation we have to make represents hundreds of passengers affected by the ongoing reckless actions of this union,” Diederik Pen said in an online update.

“In the face of enormous adversity, our teams are working hard to ensure safe and controlled operations.”

The airline’s fleet will be reduced to around 30 aircraft by Sunday evening, the statement said.

The travel disruptions came after members of the Airplane Mechanics Fraternal Association walked out of work Friday afternoon, saying WestJet’s “unwillingness to negotiate with the union made the strike inevitable.”

The industrial action followed two weeks of tense negotiations, following which the federal government intervened and forced WestJet and the union into binding arbitration.

AMFA leadership released a letter from the Canada Industrial Relations Board about its decision, which said the ministry’s referral “does not result in a suspension of the right to strike or lockout.”

Federal Labor Minister Seamus O’Regan posted online on Saturday that he had met with both parties.

“I met with WestJet and AMFA this evening. I told them they need to work with the Canada Industrial Relations Board to resolve their differences and reach their initial agreement. There is a lot at stake here. Canadians need a resolution,” he wrote.

With files from The Canadian Press